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Chocolate is not often considered to be a miracle cure for a wide range of medical conditions or an aid to
corrective laser surgery.
It usually gets bad press for being high in fat, loaded with sugar and a factor affecting obesity rates - which are a key cause of health problems in the western world, boosting a person's chances of developing everything from heart disease to diabetes.
But new research has shown that chocolate may have its place in the medical establishment as a treatment for a number of conditions - such as hypertension and diabetes - and the substance may even help during surgical
vision correction, it has been reported.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, top laser eye surgeon Professor Dan Reinstein said chocolate can be used to calm people's nerves ahead of
corrective laser surgery.
Patients visiting the surgeon's Vision Clinic in London's Harley Street are being encouraged to eat as much chocolate as they can ahead of surgery.
Professor Reinstein told the news provider: "Patients who eat chocolate prior to laser surgery are less jittery, more alert and more co-operative than those who receive sedatives.
"For example, with a relaxed, attentive patient I can perform a routine procedure in less than three minutes.
"But the same procedure can occasionally take much longer if the patient is tense and worked-up."
Professor Reinstein's comments highlight that the perfect preparation for
corrective laser surgery - which can have debilitating side effects if it is not carried out correctly - is still open to debate.
This could be a concern for people considering undergoing the procedure and may cause them to seek out
alternatives to laser eye surgery.
To make corrections to a person's lens using a laser requires incredible amounts of accuracy and any 'jittering' could easily jeopardise the success of the procedure.
This problem can be side-stepped with i-GO's Ortho K corrective lenses, which have similar benefits to laser eye surgery, but none of the potentially permanent side effects.
Eye Health: Find out if i-GO over night contact lenses will suit you.
By Will Stevenson
