I always did consider chocolate one of the major food groups<\/p>\n
Scientists Found That A Compound In Dark Chocolate Is Linked To A Lower Biological Age.<\/a><\/p>\n In a new study, people with higher levels of theobromine (a compound found in dark chocolate) in their blood had a biological age that was lower than their chronological age.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n This could be thanks to theobromine’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that support healthy aging.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Still, more research is needed before experts recommend upping your dark chocolate intake\u2014and there are a couple of downsides to consider.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Most of the data around\u00a0slowing down the aging process<\/a>\u00a0points to eating a nutritious diet and exercising regularly. But new research suggests that\u00a0dark chocolate<\/a>\u00a0could have a positive effect, too.<\/p>\n The study, which was published in the journal\u00a0Aging,<\/a><\/em>\u00a0linked a compound found in dark chocolate called theobromine with healthier markers of biological aging.<\/p>\n Before you dig into that stash of dark chocolate in the name of longevity, know this: There\u2019s a lot more work that needs to be done before doctors actually recommend eating it for your health. Still, there\u2019s some interesting stuff in here worth knowing. Here\u2019s what the research found, plus what experts want you to keep in mind.<\/p>\n For the study, researchers looked at health data from nearly 1,700 people living in Europe. The scientists analyzed several elements of the participants\u2019 health, including various compounds that circulated in their blood, chemical changes in their DNA that suggested their pace of aging, and the length of their telomeres, which are protective structures at the end of chromosomes. (Shorter telomere lengths are usually linked with faster biological aging.)<\/p>\n After analyzing the data, the researchers found that people with higher levels of theobromine (again, a compound found in dark chocolate) in their blood had a biological age that was lower than their chronological age. In other words, these aging markers suggested participants were biologically younger than their actual age.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Theobromine has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, says\u00a0Jessica Cording, RD<\/a>, author of\u00a0The Little Book of Game-Changers<\/em>. \u201c<\/em>Part of how it may support healthy aging and a younger biological age is by helping improve blood vessel function, circulation, and cell signaling, which all play a role in how tissues age over time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n This may seem to suggest you should up your dark chocolate intake, but experts say we\u2019re not quite there yet. Dark chocolate also contains sugar and fat, which can work against your health goals, points out\u00a0Jordana Bell, PhD<\/a>, senior study author and a professor in epigenomics at King\u2019s College London. Cording agrees. \u201cI\u2019d still recommend enjoying chocolate in moderation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Frame also points out that her\u00a0own research<\/a>\u00a0has found that dark chocolate tends to contain measurable levels of lead and cadmium, both of which are linked to serious health issues. \u201cFor most adults, small amounts of dark chocolate consumed occasionally are unlikely to create significant heavy metal exposure,\u201d Frame says. \u201cHowever, frequent consumption, large portions, or combining multiple contaminated products can contribute to cumulative exposure that is worth paying attention to, especially for pregnant individuals and children.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, experts say more research is needed. \u201cThis study adds to a growing body of evidence that what we eat can influence markers of biological aging, but it is not a green light to start eating large amounts of dark chocolate,\u201d Frame says. \u201cThe study measured theobromine in blood, not how many squares of chocolate people ate, and there is no established \u2018dose\u2019 of theobromine for healthy aging.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I always did consider chocolate one of the major food groups Scientists Found That A Compound In Dark Chocolate Is Linked To A Lower Biological Age. In a new study, people with higher levels of theobromine (a compound found in dark chocolate) in their blood had a biological age that was lower than their chronological … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-medicine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114207"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114208,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114207\/revisions\/114208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nWhat did the study find?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why might theobromine have this effect?<\/strong><\/h2>\n