Many of us reach for a piece of chocolate when we feel depressed, regardless of the type of cocoa we are drinking. But according to a new study, a few grams of 85% dark chocolate may be enough to lift our spirits.
Researchers in Korea have found that healthy adults who ate a total of 30 grams of 85 percent dark chocolate a day were happier, compared to healthy adults who ate a version with less cocoa or no chocolate. Thirty grams is about a third of a 100 gram rectangle of tablet that you can find in supermarkets.
Gut-Related Mood Improvements
The improvements in mood were thought to be related to changes in the gut from eating chocolate. However, the benefits were obtained only by eating the one that contains 85 percent cocoa , which is not the popular versions of milk chocolate like Cadbury and Nestle. These, instead, should be consumed in moderation.
Products with a high percentage of cocoa tend to be better for your health because they contain less sugar, fat and other additives. Cocoa, which is used in the production of chocolate, is rich in fiber, iron, and phytochemicals. These are powerful chemical compounds found in plants. They are also known to support the immune system and reduce the risk of diseases such as cancer, dementia, arthritis, heart disease, and stroke.
The new study was conducted by researchers from the Department of Food and Nutrition at the School of Human Ecology at Seoul National University. Until now, little has been known about the emotional effects of daily dark chocolate intake. ” Dark chocolate has long been recognized for its mood-altering properties ,” they say in their research article. However, the evidence on the emotional effects of daily dark chocolate intake is limited.
This is the first study to provide evidence that dark chocolate consumption influences physiological and psychological states . The study involved 46 participants, who consumed 30 grams a day of chocolate with 85% cocoa, chocolate with 70% cocoa or no chocolate for three weeks.
The participants’ moods were measured using a psychological scale. This consists of 20 adjectives that indicate positive or negative moods. Participants were asked to rate their feelings on a scale of one (very slightly or not at all) to five (extremely) for each adjective. To assess the association between the mood-altering effects of dark chocolate and the gut microbiota, participants’ feces were also analyzed.
85% chocolate, the only one with benefits
The study found that dark chocolate consumption reduced negative moods in the group of people who ate 85 percent cocoa, but not in the 70 percent group. The fecal samples showed that the intestinal microbial diversity was higher in the 85 percent cocoa group than in the control group.
The 85 percent group had higher levels of Blautia , a type of intestinal bacteria, which was significantly associated with positive changes in mood scores. It is possible that the mood-altering effect of 85% chocolate is due to changes in the diversity and abundance of gut bacteria.
Previous research has shown that the microbiota of healthy controls has more Blautia compared to patients with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Studies have shown that reduced bacterial diversity increases susceptibility to various diseases. These include inflammatory bowel disease, major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder.
