Dark Chocolate can Reduce Your Stress

by Kell

Dark chocolate could be good for your stress levels. New research shows eating dark chocolate every day can reduce your stress levels.

People who were highly stressed at the start of the two week study had lower levels of stress hormones after eating 40g of dark chocolate each day.

In the study doctors took urine and blood plasma samples of participants at the beginning, halfway through and at the end of the two week study and found lower levels of stress hormones cortisol and the fight or flight hormones known as catecholmines in highly stressed people.

These findings add to a growing research base for the potential benefits of some elements of dark chocolate. For example, cocoa has been found to be rich in antioxidants which has been linked to a number of health benefits.

The research was conducted on 30 healthy adults, so clearly more sample size is required to support the findings.

The scientists, led by Dr Kochhar of the Nestle Research Center in Switzerland, published their findings Journal of Proteome Research.

However, it is important to remember that moderation is key. Since chocolate contains fat and sugar, it's possible to have too much of a good thing.

I write more healthy eating to reduce stress at stress nutrition.