Chocolate Relief

Stress eating is a habit experienced my most college students at some point. Whether it is after a tough test or just anticipating the crazy week, stress eating happens. However, I have some news that might make stress eating seem a little less of a bad habit. As it turns out, some of the food you might be munching on has some stress relieving qualities.

Among these foods is dark chocolate, which personally, I was thrilled to discover. Not only is dark chocolate good for the heart, it also has an arsenal of qualities that should make it your go-to snack for stress. When people become stressed, their bodies have a way of reacting. In attempt to combat the stress a person’s body will release hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These are the body’s stress hormones. They are the hormones that cause the physical symptoms of being stressed such as increased heart rate and quicker breaths.

T. Jared Bunch explains in “Dark Chocolate: The Perfect Snack for Stress Relief and Heart Health”, that chocolate happens to be rich in Flavonols. Not only are Flavonols good for the heart, they also help to combat the release of stress hormones. A study was conducted that looked at the levels of stress hormones in the body after eating chocolate. A handful of men were given dark chocolate while the remaining men in the study were given a placebo. They were then placed in a stressful situation. After the stress test, each of the men were tested to observe the levels of stress hormones present in their body.

The study found that of the men who were tested, the men who were given chocolate before the stress test had significantly lower levels of stress hormones in their systems, and reported feeling less stressed than those who were not given the chocolate.

So the next time you are feeling stressed and go to reach for a snack, think about grabbing some dark chocolate. Not only can you indulge yourself a bit, you can also feel good about the fact that you are combatting some of the negative effects stress has on your body.