ne of my favourite foods
is chocolate,especiallythe
milkystuff,butI willeatdark
chocolate.Sothisparticular
headlinecheeredmeup noend:
“Peoplewhoeatdarkchocolateare
lesslikelytobedepressed”.It was
basedona study ca rriedout by
researchersfromUniversityCollege
London,publishedinthejournal
Depression& Anxiety. Theycompared
thechocolate-eatinghabitsofmore
than13,000adults(basedondietary
questionnaires),withtheirdepression
scores(basedonsomethingcalled
thePatientHealthQuestionnaire).
Afteradjustingforconfounders
suchas height,weight,maritalstatus,
ethnicity,education,income,physical
activity,smoking,etc,theyfoundthat
eatersofdarkchocolatehad 70 per
centloweroddsofbeingclinically
depressedthanthosewhoreported
noteatingchocolateat all.DrSarah
Jackson,leadauthorofthestudy,
wasrightlycautiousaboutclaiming
toomuch.Assheexplained,from
thissortofa studyyoucan’tinfer
causality.It couldbethatwhenpeople
getdepressedtheyloseinterestin
eatingchocolate(whichstrikesmeas
a bitimplausible),“ortherecouldbe
otherfactorsthatmakepeopleboth
lesslikelytoeatdarkchocolateand
tobedepressed.”
Butlet’sassume,forthemoment,
thateatingdarkchocolatemight
enhanceyourmood.Whatcouldbe
the mechanism? Dark chocolate hasa highconcentrationofflavonoids–
theseareantioxidantswhichhave
beenshownto reduceinflammation.
Chocolatealsocontainsa surprising
amountoffibre.Thedarkchocolate
I amcurrentlystaringat is 10percent
fibre,whilethecocoapowderinmy
cupboardsaysit is 30percentfibre.
Thiscombinationoff lavonoids
andfibrehavebeenshowntoboost
levelsof ‘good’bacteriainthegut.In
turn,thesebacteriaproduceshort-
chain fatty acids, which have a
powerfulanti-inflammatoryeffect.
As there is mounting evidence thatM I C H A E L
MOSLEY
Michaelis a writer
andbroadcaster,
whopresentsTrust
Me,I’mA Doctor.His
latestbookisThe
Fast 800 (£8.99,
Short Books).Couldmynaughtychocolate
habitactually be good for
my brain?I HAVE A
CONFECTION...
COMMENT
depression,at leastinpart,is dueto
inflammationinthebrain,youcan
begintoputtogether a plausible
casefordarkchocolatemediating
depressionviathemicrobiome.
Therearenorandomisedcontrolled
trialsshowingthatdarkchocolate
reallydoesimprovedepression,but
therewasonethatshowedit could
boostbloodflowto thebrainandother
organs.Ina smallstudypublishedin
thejournalCardiovascularSystem,
Portugueseresearcherstook 30 healthy
adultsandallocatedthemtoeither
eatingeightgrams– aboutonesmall
square– of 70percentcocoachocolate
a dayfora month,ortoa control
group.Thoseeatingthechocolatesaw
theirarterialbloodflowincrease,on
average,byover 50 percent.
WhileI can’tseedarkchocolate
beingprescribedfordepressionor
heartfailureanytimesoon,it does
makemefeelbetterabouthaving a
nibble every now and then.“Antioxidantsand
fibreindark
chocolatecanboost
levelsofgood
bacteria in the gut”
PORTRAIT: KATE COPELAND ILLUSTRATION: SERGIO MEMBRILLAS
O