Eating dark chocolate may be better than exercising, according to a recent study.
The study reports that epicatechin—a compound in chocolate—causes the same muscle response as vigorous activity, making chocolate apparently as good as exercise.
"If chocolate has the same effect as exercise, why am I getting up at 7 a.m. to go to the gym every morning?" asked freshman Erin Stidham in reaction to the study.
Not so fast—the article goes on to explain that exercise increases the number of mitochondria (the "powerhouse of the cell," if you remember from biology class) in muscle cells. Dark chocolate appears to cause the same effect.
An increase in mitochondria could in turn "raise energy levels and… offset muscle aging," said Moh Malek, the chief researcher on the study. He goes on to explain that so far this effect has only been found in mice, and it may be years before the benefit is proven in human systems as well.
We all love chocolate. It's our go-to food for sweet cravings, break-ups, snacking and late-night cram sessions. The food most often slanted into the "junk food" category, however, is anything but.
Dark chocolate (containing at least 70 percent cocoa) is what you want to look for when buying chocolate because the health benefits come from the cocoa—not the high amounts of milk and sugar found in milk and white chocolate, according to webmd.com. Milk chocolate may be creamier, but rich dark chocolate will keep you healthy.
The health benefits of dark chocolate have been known for decades, and include some of the following:
- Chocolate has been proven to be one-third more effective at relieving a cough than codeine, the active ingredient in most cough medicines.
- Dark chocolate is the second-best source of antioxidants in the world (behind the açai berry). Antioxidants stop free radicals, potentially reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Eating a small amount of dark chocolate each day can lower your blood pressure significantly—up to two points for diastolic and five points for systemic over two weeks.
- The serotonin released when eating chocolate makes you feel happy, and some describe it as the same feeling as falling in love.
As time goes on, I'm quite sure that science will continue to discover even more reasons we should all be eating chocolate. I think we all knew subconsciously, as we powered through that Godiva chocolate bar, that the delicious food of the gods is really good for us after all.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.