Let the Cheering Commence: Chocolate is Good for Your Heart and can Ease Pain!
There has been an explosion of interest – and now a continuous flow of evidence-based research – on the overall benefits of chocolate, especially when consumed in moderation and as part of an overall healthy lifestyle. “The luscious aroma, taste and textures of chocolate have delighted the senses of people in many parts of the world for centuries and make it a well-known comfort food,” commented Sunil Kochhar, Ph.D. during the Cocoa: Science and Technology symposium held at the March 2014 National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.(source: www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2012/march/science-celebrates-cocoa-and-chocolates-potential-health-benefits.html)
Physical pain can take an emotional toll on a person. Now, scientists have discovered that chocolate can help with that, too! Perhaps even more interesting than the comfort-food qualities of chocolate, though, is the emerging understanding that “Dark chocolate can relieve stress for some people” and that “chocolate may be useful in treating of diseases involving disorders of the trigeminal nerve, including migraine and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.” (source: www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2012/march/science-celebrates-cocoa-and-chocolates-potential-health-benefits.html In addition to reducing stress, providing comfort and positively influencing certain nerve components connected with TMJ, researchers are continuing to look at scientifically significant laboratory results indicating chocolate eating’s positive correlation with diseases and conditions. The list of potential physiological benefits is even longer than we have time for here. But here are a few currently being studied:
- fighting cardiovascular problems
- preventing clot formation
- protecting livers from damage that can lead to liver disease
- reducing high blood pressure – a major heart disease risk
- reducing the risk of colon cancer
Adding to the good news…Breaking news from Dallas TX: At the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society researchers presented the health-craving (and the chocolate-craving) world with the first research based and peer reviewed evidence on why chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is an anti-inflammatory health food. Researchers from Louisiana State University, lead by John Finley, Ph.D., explained that the benefits of chocolate have been spoken about for centuries, but a modern scientific understanding of why has remained a mystery. Finley’s team identified Bifidobacterium and lactic acid as “good microbes” that literately consume the chocolate we eat and then ferment it into anti-inflammatory compounds that are good for the heart. Read more here: www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2014/march/the-precise-reason-for-the-health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate-mystery-solved.html