Dark Chocolate And Endurance Exercises

Author: Karen Lennox Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

The plant ingredient in chocolate - epicatechin, stimulates the same muscle response as that of vigorous activity.

Eating a few pieces of dark chocolate a day can improve our health in a similar way to exercise, according to a US study.

Scientists are focusing on mitochondria , a universal cellular organelle found in almost all eukaryotic cells. Because they generate energy, mitochondria are described as "cellular energy factories." Researchers have found that the plant ingredient in chocolate, epicatechin , stimulates the same muscle response as vigorous activity.

"Mitochondria produce energy that is used by cells in the body. More mitochondria means producing more energy , so more work can be done, ”explains Dr. Mo Malek of Wayne State University in Detroit, who led the study.

It is known that aerobic exercise such as jogging or cycling, increases the number of mitochondria in muscle cells. The study found that epicatechin probably leads to the same response, especially in the heart and skeletal muscle, the chief researcher added.

Volunteers consume cocoa containing a specific type of epicatechin twice a day for 15 days. At the same time, they are subjected to 30 minutes of exercise every day.

The results show that taking epicatechin, combined with exercise, may be a reliable and effective way to compensate for muscle aging , scientists say.

With age, the number of mitochondria decreases in skeletal muscle and this affects muscle energy and endurance . Applying new scientific knowledge about the ability of epicatechin to increase the number of mitochondria may provide an approach to reducing the effects of muscle aging.

Dark Chocolate And Endurance Exercises

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