Chocolates are Healthy

According to the new research, eating dark chocolates is good for health and it has various other benefits as well. From two new studies being represented at experimental Biology 2018 annual meeting in San Diego explained consumption of dark chocolates that is  highly concentrated with cacao affects positively on stress levels, inflammation, mood, memory and immunity.

Cacao is a major source of flavonoids,  flavonoids are  a large group of plant pigments having a structure based on or similar to that of flavone. This is the first time when the effect has been has experimented on human bodies and its system to know how it can support cognitive, endocrine and cardiovascular health. The flavonoids that are found in cacao are extremely potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, with known mechanisms which are favorable for brain and cardiovascular health. After a few experiments, results show that cacao consumption regulates cellular immune response and genes involved in neural signaling and sensory perception – the latter potentially associated with increased brain plasticity. Lee Berk, the study’s lead author, said: ‘For years, we have looked at the influence of dark chocolate on neurological functions from the standpoint of sugar content – the more sugar, the happier we are. 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. These studies show us that the higher the concentration of cacao, the more positive the impact on cognition, memory, mood, immunity and other beneficial effects.’

By: Shruti Anand

Content: https://health.spectator.co.uk/dark-chocolate-reduces-stress-and-inflammation/