This type of chocolate may help reduce depressive symptoms, according to a study

Do you feel depressed? A piece of chocolate could help, according to a new report.

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Researchers at University College London recently conducted a study, published in the journal Depression and Anxiety, to determine the link between chocolate consumption and depression.

To do this, they collected data from the US National Health and Nutrition Survey, which badesses the health and nutritional status of Americans.

The team looked at chocolate consumption and depressive symptoms, such as anxiety, apathy and despair of 13,626 adults. They also took into account factors such as height, weight, marital status, ethnicity, education, and household income.

After badyzing the results, they found that adults who ate chocolate of all kinds were less likely to have depressive symptoms than those who did not.

But dark chocolate seemed to have an advantage over others. Those who ate dark chocolate over a 48-hour period were 70% less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who did not have any at all.

Although the authors point out that the sweet treat contains psychoactive ingredients that produce a feeling of euphoria, they suggested that they did not have enough evidence to prove that chocolate alleviated depressive symptoms.

"More research is needed to clarify the direction of causality – depression may cause people to lose interest in chocolate, or other factors that make people less likely to eat dark chocolate. to be depressed, "the scientists wrote in a statement." If a cause and effect relationship demonstrating a protective effect of chocolate consumption on depressive symptoms is established, one needs to understand the biological mechanism for determining the type and amount of chocolate consumption for optimal prevention and management of depression. "

Want to know more about their discoveries? Take a look at the comprehensive study here.

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