Researchers testing if daily chocolate supplements can help
Cocoa contains phenylethylamine, shown to increase release of dopamine
May reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
Could daily chocolate supplements reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s disease? That’s the thinking behind a new trial at Dresden University of Technology in Germany.
Around 30 patients will be given 50g of either white chocolate, which contains no cocoa, or dark chocolate (85 per cent cocoa) twice daily for a week. They’ll then receive the other type of chocolate in a second week. The differences in their symptoms will be compared.
Parkinson’s disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in the part of the brain that produces dopamine, which helps co-ordinate body movement. Low levels of the hormone have been linked to symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as shaking.
The cocoa in chocolate contains phenylethylamine, which has been shown to increase the release of dopamine
Source: Daily Mail
