Can Drinking Cocoa Reduce Stress?
Drinking cocoa may help us recover more quickly from the physiological effects of stress, despite high-fat comfort foods we may turn to in such times. This is according to a new study from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
The authors of the study — which appears in Food & Function — have previously shown that consuming fatty foods may negatively affect vascular function and reduce cortical oxygenation during stressful situations, and inhibit the body’s subsequent recovery.
Cocoa contains a flavanol, epicatechin, that relaxes blood vessels’ endothelial cell layer, improving their function and addressing elevated blood pressure, which is a common reaction to stress.
Excerpted from Medical News Today
