July 21, 2014
Did you know that dark chocolate has many therapeutic health effects, most notably on the cardiovascular sytstem. Swiss researchers reveal that dark chocolate (125 mg of epicatechin) may reduce elevations in stress hormones, when consumed prior to a stressful event. The team enrolled 65 healthy men, ages 20 to 50 years, who received either 50 g of dark chocolate, or placebo, two hours before a stress test. While stress markers increased among both groups, the dark chocolate group showed blunted responses for cortisol and epinephrine. Observing that: “flavonoid-rich dark chocolate intake buffers endocrine stress reactivity,” the study authors posit that dark chocolate may exert “inhibitory peripheral effects … on the biosynthesis and secretion of cortisol and catecholamines.”
As always,
Be well,
Diane Silverman R.Ph.
Ask The Pharmacist Group
