102 MUSCLE & FITNESS JUNE 2017
Ihavebeenfollowingthestory
ofcocoaforquitesometime.
Aroundtheturnofthecentury,
researchbegantoemergethat
cocoa had benefits on cholesterol
and antioxidant activity. Since
then,ithasshownfavourable
effectsonbloodflow,then
insulin and more recently brain
function, inflammation and,
most importantly for readers of
this magazine, improvements in
performance, muscle strength
andrecovery.Itmayevenhelpto
decrease body fat and probably
hasmultipleotheradvantagesfor
exercisers.Thesedays,itisn’thard
to find sports supplements which
contain cocoa or its extracts but
IthinkIwas(among?)thefirstto
includehigh-flavanolcocoaina
pre-workout product formulation
severalyearsago.Iincludedit
mainlybecauseitincreaseslevels
ofouroldfriend,nitricoxideNitric oxide (NO)
IwasaseniorR&Dscientiston
thefirstevernitricoxideproduct
to be sold in the sports nutrition
market (U.S. Patent: 6784209)
andatthattime,therewasonly
“suggestive” research that NO
helpswiththebuildingandrepair
of muscle and also perhaps with
fat loss and exercise performance.
But the research on the positive
associationswithallofthemajor
anabolic hormones and blood
flow were solid. So with NO, we
were pretty confident we were
ontoawinner.ForseveralyearsCOCOA HAS NOW
BEEN SHOWN IN ABOUT
ADOZEN STUDIES
TO INCREASE PERFORMANCE.
CHOCOLATE FOR PERFORMANCE AND HEALTH
(“NO”) – the naturally-produced
gas in the body that dilates blood
vessels and has benefits on muscle
growth, hormones and exercise
performance, but I suspected it had
other benefits too. In the following,
I’m going to look at these multiple
benefits and also advise on some
important guidelines on how to
properly use cocoa so that its effects
are not reduced or diminished.How does
chocolate work?
Well, the first hints that chocolatemight have health benefits
emerged when scientists studied
its content of polyphenols – these
are just natural chemicals which
occur in plants. One of these
is a type of f lavanol called a
“catechin”. You may be familiar
with a similar catechin found
in tea, called “epigallocatechin
gallate” or EGCG – this is the one
which is responsible for its fat loss
effects. Similar constituents are
found in red wine and these are
thought to be responsible for its
health benefits. Anyhow, in the late
1990s it was discovered that dark
chocolate had a four times greater
concentration of these f lavanols as
compared to tea, and subsequent
studies have shown it is also a four
times more concentrated source
than wine. So really, what we have
here is a potential superfood!
But are there any actual benefits
to humans?DARK
CHOCOLATEIt’s the wonder stuff. Dark
chocolate is packed with
good things like minerals and
antioxidants, and eating it can
make your life better – and not just
because it tastes so damn good.
Chocolate consumption has links
to better memory, improved
cognitive and cardiac function and
a reduced risk of stroke. According
to a study in the Journal of the
American Diabetes Association,
dark chocolate contains
phenethylamine, a compound
shown to release the same
endorphins triggered by sex.
Antioxidant-rich chocolate is also
known to stimulate dopamine
production. One Finnish study
even found that chocolate reduced
stress in expectant mothers, and
babies of chocolate-eating
parents smiled more than the
offspring of their boring, non-
choc-eating counterparts. This
dark, chocolatey goodness can
even help to protect your skin
from sun damage, although we
don’t recommend skipping the
sunscreen for a block of Old Gold.