We all know that stress can have terribly destructive effects on both our physical and emotional health. Sometimes prolonged stress can be responsible for some pretty serious health problems as well.
A new study by scientists at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne Switzerland has found more about the health benefits of dark chocolate and that enjoying dark chocolate might not just be a tasty indulgence, but it also appears to lower levels of stress hormones in those who are feeling stressed out.
Add this to the growing number of potential benefits to your heart that come from dark chocolate and all those good-for-you flavonoids inside that tasty package, and you’ll be choosing dark chocolate over any other kind.
Enjoying one dark chocolate candy bar daily for two weeks was found in this latest study to actually reduce levels of cortisol as well as the “fight or flight” hormones known as catecholamines in highly stressed people.
So, if you’re dealing with constant stress, a small amount of dark chocolate each day might be just the thing to help you cope.
In the study, the team examined the effects on 30 healthy adults of eating 1.4 ounces (40 grams, the size of an average candy bar) of rich and yummy dark chocolate every day for a two-week period on measures of stress.
Half the candy bar was eaten mid-morning, the other half mid-afternoon. The anxiety levels of the subjects were determined at the start of the study using validated psychological questionnaires, allowing the team to classify subjects as low or high anxiety.
Body fluids (blood and urine) were also collected and analyzed at the beginning and end of the research period.
The result was that those with lots of anxiety who ate dark chocolate daily cut stress hormone levels. The dark chocolate also seems to have a beneficial effect on the metabolism and microbial action of the digestive system.
“Consuming dark chocolate daily can positively impact the metabolism of people that report having high-stress levels,” explains Sunil Kochhar, a Nestlé researcher leading the study. “These results strongly support our ongoing metabonomics research efforts to ascertain the impact of certain foods on human metabolism through the adaptation of gut microbial activities.”
The study appears in the Journal of Proteome Research and was conducted by a team of experts at the Nestle Research Center located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Chocolate Removes Stress Continued…
It makes sense that chocolate, which comes from plants, should have some of the same natural, good-for-you substances found in dark veggies.
Flavonoids in this kind of chocolate are nearly 8 times what you find in strawberries, and act as antioxidants that protect the body from damage caused by free radicals.
They also help relax blood pressure by producing nitric oxide, as well as balancing some hormones in the body.
And while chocolate of any kind does contain fats, only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is bad for you. That doesn’t mean indulge all you like… keep your dark chocolate intake to no more than 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) a day to get the benefits without suffering because of the added calories.
Remember too, that the calories you take in from chocolate must be balanced to get the best health benefits of dark chocolate, by lessening the amount you take in someplace else so you won’t be packing on the pounds while you’re coping with an especially stressful time.
Daily Health Bulletin
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