A recently published study in Australia claimed that dark chocolate enhances one’s mood by means of boosting calmness and feelings of contentment. How is this possible? It’s all in the polyphenols that cocoa is known to be rich in.

Polyphenols are naturally found in plants and are a basic element of the human diet. Such compounds are proven to lessen oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is linked to a lot of diseases. Also, polyphenols are said to have outstanding psychological effects.

“Anecdotally, chocolate is often linked to mood enhancement,” Matthew Pase, a PhD candidate at the University of Swineburne in Melbourne and lead author of the study, claims. “This clinical trial is perhaps the first to scientifically demonstrate the positive effects of cocoa polyphenols on mood.”

Such research has been based on a randomized study which involved 72 healthy men and women aged 40-65 years. Those who participated each received a dark chocolate drink mix standardized to have either 500mg of cocoa polyphenols, 250mg of cocoa polyphenols or none.

The participants were then provided with the drink mixes in identical packaging in order for the investigators and participants to be unaware of which treatment they were getting. Participants drank their assigned drink once a day for 30 consecutive days.

30 days after, participants who were given the high dose concentration of cocoa polyphenols claimed to have much more calmness and contentedness than the one who consumed either of the other drink mixes.

The researchers didn’t find any evidence that cocoa polyphenols hugely improved cognitive performance, though. Only participants who drank the highest amount of polyphenols reported any substantial positive effects. Participants who consumed a moderate amount (250 mg a day) reported no dramatic effects.

We all get bummed out at one point or another. It’s quite often because of our job, but it could be for other personal reasons as well.

However tiring and time-consuming things can get, you should never fail to squeeze some Zen into your life. You can get it from going to a spa, spending a night out with friends, sitting and eating at the dinner table with your family, or lounging around in the living room with your significant other.

But if all of the above just seems undoable right now, you can just grab a bite of your favorite dark chocolate. That’s not doing much, but it always does the trick. Especially now that you have science to back it up!

How do you like to unwind? Leave me some comments below!

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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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