WBRZ - Baton Rouge

A new study that suggests small doses of chocolate every day could decrease your risk of having a heart attack or stroke by nearly 40 percent, but doctors say don't over do it.

German researchers followed nearly 20,000 people over eight years, and found people who had an average of six grams of chocolate per day - or about one square of a chocolate bar - had a 39 percent lower risk of either a heart attack or stroke.

The study will be published in the European Heart Journal.