People Who Eat Dark Chocolate Less Likely to be Depressed

Posted on August 6, 2019

Dark chocolate can help to significantly lower the depressive symptoms experienced by an individual, according to a new study led by researchers from UCL. The study aimed to find out if consuming different types of chocolates is associated with depression.

13, 626 adults were recruited for the study, which required them to fill up the Patient Health Questionnaire and measure their chocolate consumption. Other factors that might influence the results were also considered to ensure that chocolate consumption is the only independent variable.

Individuals who ate dark chocolate within 48 hours had a significantly lower tendency to report having any depressive symptoms, compared to participants who did not eat any chocolate at all. Some of the subjects who consumed other types of chocolate were also less likely than those who did not eat any chocolates to report depressive symptoms, but results were not as significant.

Therefore, the study proves that consumption of dark chocolate is linked to the decrease in depressive symptoms in individuals. This is most possibly due to the presence of psychoactive ingredients in dark chocolate, which induces a euphoric feeling resembling cannabinoid, which is found in cannabis. It also contains components that might help to regulate emotions.

The enjoyment of the eating process is also important in helping to elevate the moods of individuals, as experiments have found that the experience of consuming chocolate has to be a pleasant one in order for mood improvements to occur. More research is still needed to determine the relationship between dark chocolate consumption and depression, however, as the causal direction is still unclear.


Category(s):Depression

Source material from Science Daily