Dark Chocolate Can Reduce Stress

A clinical trial published in the ACS Journal of Proteome Research discovered that dark chocolate can be useful for stress reduction. Eating approximately 1.5 oz of dark chocolate each day for two weeks lowered levels of stress hormones in people feeling highly stressed. Researchers note that dark chocolate partially corrected different stress-related biochemical imbalances. It is important to note that this is one of the first studies to analyze how dark chocolate affects stress hormones in humans.

To read the study click here.


from flickr heliosphan

According to the study, “Chronic stress is correlated with increases in stress hormones cortisol and catecholamines, … and our results suggest potential beneficial implications of dark chocolate consumption for reduction of mental and/or physical stress and improvement of the metabolic response to stress.”

A previous study on dark chocolate by Dr. Dirk Taubert (published in The Journal of the American Medical Association) reports it is also good for lowering blood pressure. The cocoa phenols in dark chocolate are responsible for its blood-pressure-lowering effect.

For those hoping white or milk chocolate can offer similar benefits I'm afraid you're out of luck.

To read the original article from Blisstree.com click here.