Chocolate lovers rejoice: New research suggests that consuming a small amount of chocolate daily may help you push yourself harder during workouts. Scientists from a number of institutions including the University of California, San Diego observed the effects of epicatechin on middle-aged mice over the course of 15 days; epicatechin is an antioxidant found in chocolate.
Researchers divided the mice into two groups, one of which drank water twice a day while the other drank a purified, liquid form of epicatechin twice a day. Each group was further divided in half, with half of the mice in each group starting a light exercise routine of strolling on the treadmill; the other halves remained sedentary.
At the end of the 15 days, each group underwent a treadmill test and had their back leg muscles biopsied. The results revealed that the group that combined epicatechin intake with exercise performed the best and showed signs that their cells were producing new mitochondria, which provides cellular energy and makes muscles more efficient and less prone to fatigue; the sedentary mice who didn’t exercise but still drank epicatechin also showed improved signs of performance albeit not as much as the active mice. While it’s not exactly known how epicatechin stimulates mitochondria production, one of the researchers attributed the possibility to specific receptors within muscle cells that respond positively to epicatechin.
Obviously, you’re no mouse. But even though the effects of epicatechin haven’t been studied in humans just yet, this study provides some hope that these benefits may extend to us upon further research. Until then, eat some chocolate. Eating half a square of dark chocolate provides roughly the same amount of epicatechin that the mice were given. The benefits of dark chocolate go beyond the gym – its antioxidants help reduce the risk of heart disease and keep your skin healthy. Don’t have much of a sweet tooth? You can find antioxidants in your favorite fruits and vegetables as well as men’s antioxidant supplements. Just don’t overdo it: Chocolate is calorie-dense so moderation is key.
