When new research comes out saying that we should increase our consumption of broccoli or start eating kale, we might not feel overly inclined to make the suggested changes. However, there are very few of us who don’t love chocolate, and two new studies by researchers from the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center are sure to have us dashing to the store to pick up a bar of dark chocolate. The findings of the studies , which were both conducted by principal investigator, Lee S. Berk, the university’s associate dean of research affairs, were presented at the 2018 annual Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego recently. The results indicate that consuming dark chocolate with at least 70 percent cacao can reduce stress and inflammation, while improving memory, mood and immunity against disease. So delicious and so nutritious … Dr. Berk explained that most previous studies have concentrated on how the sugar content in dark chocolate makes people feel happier. These studies, on the other hand, considered what impact large amounts of cacao have on humans over the short- and long-term with regard to happiness and eliciting a good mood. The researchers were impressed with the results. “These studies show us that the higher the concentration of cacao, the more positive the impact on cognition, memory, mood, immunity and other beneficial effects,” Dr. Berk told Science Daily . Regarding the first study, the authors noted: Study findings show cacao consumption up-regulates multiple intracellular signaling pathways involved in T-cell activation, cellular immune response and genes involved in neural signaling and sensory perception — the latter potentially associated with the phenomena of brain hyperplasticity. And regarding the second study they added: This study assessed the electroencephalography (EEG) response to consuming 48 g of dark chocolate (70% cacao) after an acute […]

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When it comes to chocolate, the darker the better: Dark chocolate reduces stress while improving memory