85% dark chocolate, the mood, the gut and the brain
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Dark chocolate has long been recognized for its mood-altering properties; however, the evidence regarding the emotional effects of daily dark chocolate intake is limited. A randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the effects of dark chocolate intake on mood in everyday life, with special emphasis on the gut-brain axis. Two different dark chocolates (85% and 70% cocoa content) were tested in this study. In the trial, young healthy adults (20-30 y) consumed either 30 grams a day of 85% cocoa chocolate or 70% cocoa chocolate; or no chocolate for 3 weeks. Mood states were measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Daily consumption of dark chocolate significantly reduced negative affect in the group that consumed 85% dark chocolate, but not in the one who ate the 70% DC. They found that dark chocolate consumption had no significant impact on positive affect. However, negative affect was significantly altered by dark chocolate consumption. The DC85 (85% dark choc group) showed a significant decrease in negative affect, while the change in negative affect following the intervention was not significantly different in the DC70 (70% dark choc group) compared to the CON group (no choco grp). Collectively, these results suggest that intake of dark chocolate with a higher cocoa content has a positive influence on negative emotional states. To assess the association between the mood-altering effects of dark chocolate and the gut microbiota, a fecal rRNA sequencing analysis has been performed on the 3 groups. Gut microbial diversity was significantly higher in DC85 than CON. These findings indicate that dark chocolate can exert prebiotic effects (meaning that might restructure the diversity and abundance of intestinal bacteria); thus, it may improve negative emotional states via the gut-brain axis.
SOURCE: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955286321002746?via%3Dihub&ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_TSJ107)&goal=0_ce350f41fb-abea778741-112521485&mc_cid=abea778741&mc_eid=9e20d68a23
Photo credits @Monika Grabkowska