People Who Eat Dark Chocolate Less Likely to be Depressed, Says Study

If you are one of those who swear by dark chocolate and find it to be an infinitely better edible than the sickly sweet milk chocolates that are usually sold in stores, you are in luck. Turns out, according to a new research from University College London, eating dark chocolate can actually help reduce chances of being depressed. The study is published in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

According to a story published in Daily Mail, scientists quizzed more than 13,000 people about their chocolate consumptions and symptoms of depression. The researchers found that volunteers who reported eating any dark chocolate were significantly less likely to report signs of depression. However, no such association was found with people who reported eating milk or white chocolate, scientists said.

However, even though UCL researchers admitted they could not prove chocolate combats depression and experts stating that further trials are needed, they said, chocolate contains a number of psychoactive ingredients including two forms of anandamide, which produce a feeling of euphoria similar to that of cannabis.

Notably, dark chocolate contains more antioxidants, which reduce inflammation in the body -- a condition liked to depression. However, the team admitted that it could also be that people who were depressed eat less chocolate as their low mood makes them averse to earing sweet treats.

In the study, the team looked at consumption of chocolate, depressive symptoms, and a range of other factors including their height, physical activity, health problems etc.

The results of the study revealed that participants who reported eating dark chocolate in two 24-hour periods had 70% lower odds of reporting depressive symptoms than those who didn’t eat chocolate at all.

Speaking about the same, lead author of the study, Dr Sarah Jackson said that the study provides some evidence that " consumption of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, may be associated with reduced odds of clinically relevant depressive symptoms."

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