Feeling good about dark chocolate

Feeling good about dark chocolate

By Editorial Staff
ToYourHealth.com

OK, so let’s preface this by saying that in general, you shouldn’t deal with depression or emotional ups and downs of any type with eating. However, we also recognize that comfort food is something we all turn to now and then; that’s why it’s called comfort food.

Fortunately, in some cases that food may not just be a comforting indulgence; it may also have health benefits. Consider new research from the journal Depression and Anxiety to see what we mean.

Research involving a large population of U.S. adults (13,626) enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey suggests chocolate, particularly the dark variety, may be associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms. While non-dark chocolate consumption was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms, dark chocolate was, with the highest consumers of chocolate (adjusted for dark chocolate consumption) having a significantly reduced risk of depressive symptoms compared to non-consumers of chocolate.

Of course, don’t start wolfing down dark chocolate every day, or you’ll end up with other health issues (namely weight gain) that may make you depressed in spite of your chocolate consumption. On the other hand, denying yourself chocolate for a lifetime as part of your quest for ultimate health may end up being, at least in terms of depression, downright unhealthy, too. Talk to your doctor for more information about the health and wellness benefits (physically and emotionally) of a balanced, healthy diet.