By Lydia Wallie, Nutrition Director

All the chocolate lovers can now rejoice. There’s research on dark chocolate showing several potential benefits:

1. Immune support: Eating dark chocolate leads to increased expression of genes involved in the activation of T cells. These cells are part of our adaptive immune system and help us to fight infection and disease. (1)

2. Stress management via “lowering of salivary cortisol levels.” (2)

3. Improvement in fatigue in those with chronic fatigue syndrome. (3)

4. Enhanced recovery from exercise as evidenced in football athletes: ”Polyphenol-rich nutrient supplementation of dark chocolate reduces exercise-induced oxidative stress and muscular injury biomarkers in elite football athletes.” (4)

5. Heart benefits! Dark chocolate “has been found to improve antioxidant status, reduce inflammation and correlate with reduced heart disease risk.” (5)

6. Brain benefits through enhanced neuroplasticity which may support learning and memory. (6)

What form of chocolate is best though? There are endless options at the store! Read the next post for suggestions on chocolate sources.

Also, don’t forget to take advantage of the opportunity to join our New Year Nutrition Challenge! There are just a few days left to register. Sign up here!

Sources:

(1) https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.755.1

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6616509/

(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001690/

(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6280237/

(5) doi: 10.1007/s11239-008-0273-3

(6) https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.878.10