It’s not breaking news that dark chocolate has many health benefits, including a very high antioxidant content. When it comes to polyphenol and antioxidant content, dark chocolate trounces the “superfruits” — i.e., acai, pomegranate, cranberry, and blueberry.
More interestingly, dark chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine, which is like a cousin of caffeine.
Theobromine has a similar effect as caffeine, but doesn’t affecting the central nervous system.
In addition to this, the body takes much longer to clear theobromine from the body than caffeine, and both these unique properties lead to a longer and smoother stimulation.
Therefore, eliminating the usual crash associated with caffeine.
Theobromine is a vasodilator — that is, it has the ability to widen blood vessels. As a result, it works by acting on the nerves in the veins, causing them to relax in order to allow more blood flow.
This, combined with its mild stimulating effect, has been shown to give people a relaxed-like “flow” with strong focus.
Dark chocolate also affects the brain by causing the release of certain neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitters are the molecules that transmit signals between neurons.
When eating dark chocolate, the main neurotransmitter released in the brain is phenylethylamine, which tells the body to change your blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
This change in blood pressure and blood sugar causes feelings of excitement, focus, and elevated mood in the same way amphetamines do (such as cocaine), but without the extreme side-effects of tolerance and addiction to name just a few.
Phenylethylamine is known as the “love drug” because it causes your pulse rate to quicken, resulting in a similar feeling to when someone is in love.
The focus and overall sense of well-being within the properties of dark chocolate is a fantastic combination to increase the efficiency of your performance at work or simply in whatever you would like to perform better at.
Recommended Dosage: 4 Squares a Day.
Lastly, what’s important to note about dark chocolate is that not just any old dark chocolate will do. There are plenty of dark chocolate bars that have low concentrations of actual dark chocolate and are instead filled with added sugar, fillers, and other toxins.
I recommend only buying and consuming dark chocolate bars that are at least 85% dark chocolate. Make sure you read the ingredient list for the other harmful ingredients I listed above.
If you stick to these guidelines and consume a moderate amount of dark chocolate a day (four normal-size squares), it can provide you with a much-needed boost in brain power and performance.
Couldn’t agree more!