There is so much evidence that chocolate without a lot of sugar has significant health benefits.
Dark chocolate has been frequently touted as a ‘healthy’ indulgence thanks to its high levels of polyphenols and flavanols which work to protect the body from cell damage.
Studies show that eating 45g of dark chocolate, containing 85 per cent cocoa and rich in polyphenols, every day for eight weeks results in less fatigue.
Researchers believe chocolate enhances the action of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, responsible for regulating mood and sleep, which could explain why chocolate can ameliorate
symptoms of CFS and fibromyalgia.
The effect could also be due to antioxidant protection from bioactive compounds. Chocolate also contains magnesium, an extremely beneficial mineral for those with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
Getting the right amount of antioxidants and phenols in the blood has been shown to reduce an individual’s biological age by up to 6 years.
All these benefits occur with this amount of chocolate per day and this does not lead to weight gain. So a little bit of dark chocolate may do more than just tickle your taste buds.
