A study recently published in the Neuroscience Bulletin by Borah et al. at the Assan University in India claimed that B-Phenethylamine (B-PEA, a component naturally found in cococa beans, could be a precipitating factor for Parkinson’s disease.

The researchers said: “As consumption of some B-PEA-enriched food items has become an addiction in modern life, our proposed mechanism is of enormous significance and impact.” That is why they suggest limiting our consumption of chocolate.

However, their claim is quite arguable, considering it zeroes in on rodent studies. They admit that they need further investigation on human needs.

Research has it that a person eating a standard size of 100g chocolate per day, he or she has a B-PEA intake of 0.36-0.83 mg per day. It still depends on the type of chocolate eaten, though.

Earlier research showed that 0.63-1.25mg/day of chocolate consumption could cause Parkinson’s in an adult mouse.

One of the researchers said: “These results suggest that the amount of chocolate that a person takes normally might be toxic to dopaminergic neurons.”

Fret not, since some antioxidants also found in chocolate can counteract the negative effects, considering a wide array of studies have found out that polyphenols such as cathechins could protect against Parkinson’s disease.

B-phenethylamine can also be found in wine and cheese. However, chocolate is allegedly the highest-containing food item.

Parkinson’s disease is not yet fully understood by scientists, but excessive production of reactive oxygen species and the resulting mitochondrial complex-I dysfunction have been said to be the underlying cause.

Scientists have always been curious about the beneficial effects of chocolate on Parkinson’s disease, given that Parkinson’s sufferers tend to eat more chocolate as compared to the general population.

Last year, it has been found out that there were no scientific evidences pointing out how chocolate improved the motor function in Parkinson’s patients. They came up with the conclusion that the increased chocolate consumption is “largely enigmatic.”

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Joanna Maligaya

Staff Writer/Content Developer at Chocolate University Online

Ever since she can remember, Joanna has always considered chocolate as the ultimate food for her soul. She believes in the saying, “9 out of 10 people love chocolate, and the 10th always lies.”

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