Thursday, March 11, 2010

RESEARCH NEWS: DARK CHOCOLATE BENEFITS ANXIETY SYMPTOMS

Authors of a 2009 study published in the Journal of Proteome Research looked at the effect of dark chocolate consumption on stress, stress hormones and stress-related differences in energy metabolism. The study involved 30 subjects who were classified as “high anxiety trait” or “low anxiety trait.” Subjects consumed dark chocolate (40g/d) for a two-week period. The authors found that dark chocolate consumption reduced urinary excretion of stress hormone cortisol. Consumption of dark chocolate was also associated with improved energy metabolism and gut microbial activities. In addition, subjects classified as “high anxiety trait” showed a metabolic profile with different energy homeostasis, hormonal metabolism and gut microbial activity – these all showed improvement after the two-week period. The authors concluded “the study provides strong evidence that a daily consumption of 40g of dark chocolate during a period of two weeks is sufficient to modify the metabolism of free living and healthy human subjects.”

SOURCE: Journal of Proteome Research

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