Experts have been talking about the benefits of eating dark chocolate for many years. Scientists in a recent research have claimed that consumption of dark chocolate can improve mood and relieve symptoms of depression. The research has shown that adults who indulged in to the treat had 70 percent lower odds of reporting depressive symptoms than those who ate no chocolates at all.
The researchers studied data from 13,626 adults in the US and also found that the 25 percent who ate most chocolates of any kind were less likely to report depressive symptoms than those who did not eat it. But experts have cautioned that the survey was only a snapshot and further research is needed to confirm a link.
Dr Sarah Jackson, from University College London’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health care, is the lead author and said, “This study provides some evidence that consumption of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, may be associated with reduced odds of clinically relevant depressive symptoms.” But the team found no significant link between not eating dark chocolate and depressive symptoms. Dr. Jackson added that further research is required to clarify the direction of causation. The author added that it could be the case that depression causes people to lose interest in eating chocolate or there could be other factors that make people less likely to eat dark chocolate and to be depressed.
The chocolate consumption of adults was checked against their scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire that looked at depressive symptoms. However, the researchers also looked in to other factors like weight, height, marital status, education, ethnicity, household income, physical activity, smoking and chronic health problems to ensure the study only measured chocolates effect on depressive symptoms. The results were observed after the participants said if they ate any dark chocolate in two- 24 hours period. The researchers also explained that dark chocolates has been widely reported to have mood-boosting effects.
Photo Credits: Pixabay
