Chocolate could be beneficial for you, new research has found.
Yes, you heard that right. You don’t need to get worried about your health the next time you sip on dark chocolate smoothies or sprinkle some cacao nibs on your yogurt.
The benefits of consuming chocolate were presented at the Experimental Biology 2018 conference by researchers from Loma Linda University.
The team of scientists conducted two studies, both of which concluded the same result.
According to the studies, dark chocolate not only improves memory, mood, and immunity but also reduces stress and inflammation.
The chocolate used in the two studies had 30 percent organic cane sugar and 70 percent cacao.
Previous studies on cacao have found it to be a good antioxidant with strong anti-inflammatory agents and benefits for cardiovascular and brain functioning.
Lee S. Berk, the lead author of both studies and associate dean of research affairs at the School of Allied Health Professionals, revealed the findings in a press release.
“This is the first time that we have looked at the impact of large amounts of cacao in doses as small as a regular-sized chocolate bar in humans over short or long periods of time, and are encouraged by the findings,” Berk said.
In the first study, the team of researchers examined the brain waves of 10 participants half an hour after they were asked to eat a dark chocolate bar.
The brain waves of the group of participants had more gamma waves, indicating that their nerves were working at an optimum level to the best of their ability, ABC News reported.
In the second study, researchers evaluated the impact of chocolate on the immune system of the participants.
The scientists took blood samples of the research volunteers after they consumed dark chocolate.
The results showed that this group experienced a rise in their anti-inflammatory markers and T-Cells, which enable us to fight infections, according to ABC News.
Even though Berk suggests further investigation to establish the validity of the studies, the bottom line is, chocolate isn’t bad for your health.
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