I recently came across a study that was published in the Journal of Neuroscience. (Just a little of my light reading :) that showed that when rats had a bulb lit under their cage they lifted their paws due to pain. Seems pretty straight forward right? I'm not a rat but I think I'd lift my paw too. Then they gave some rats chocolate and lo and behold the rats took longer to lift the paws. It seems as though the chocolate blunted their pain response in the brain and was providing some analgesia. Chocolate contains a number of compounds that are actually good for us, including a compound called anandamide which blocks pain temporarily. Interestingly enough though, in this study, while they were unable to reproduce the results with a number of other compounds that they tried, they saw a similar response to pain when the rats were given water!
OK so here are my takeaways from this:
1) This study was done in rats so please don't break out the candy bars whenever you feel back pain, instead, maybe have a glass of water and definitely call your chiropractor.
2) This study may also be giving us some real insight into our so very complicated relationship with food! Wow!
Here are some real benefits of eating chocolate, dark chocolate without a lot of sugar and milk added in that is:
1) Chocolate is rich in antioxidants and studies show it is able to improve cardiovascular health!
2) Dark chocolate may increase satiety and decrease cravings, making it a probably the best part of a healthy diet!
3) Some studies show that the flavonoids in chocolate increase nitric oxide production. This may lead to many benefits including improved insulin regulation, improved blood flow to the brain and muscles and of course, possibly helping patients with ED?
4) This one I think is stating the obvious, but I'll mention it anyway: Studies show that chocolate helps reduce levels of stress hormones. Reducing stress hormones usually = more happy! I can definitely appreciate that benefit!
5) The benefits of chocolate seem to be never ending. From making you smarter in the short and long term, controlling diarrhea, possibly having an effect on cancer and alzheimer's to suppressing coughs and protecting your skin, including chocolate in your diet seems like a win win proposition!
So what to do with the leftover valentines day chocolates? Maybe an ounce or two of dark chocolate daily may be just what the doctor ordered!
No comments:
Post a Comment