Dark chocolate makes you sportier

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Those who want to improve their fitness tend to ignore chocolate. A mistake, as British researchers now believe. According to them, athletes should be snacking on dark chocolate to improve their training success.

As a "natural" doping agent, beetroot juice has long been on the menu of so many athletes - the root vegetables promote stamina when jogging, cycling etc. If you shake it at the thought of drinking half a liter of the earthy-tasting liquid, There is good news for him: Obviously, dark chocolate has a similar effect and would therefore be a much tastier alternative.

At least that's what an attempt by Rishikesh Kankesh Patel and his colleagues at Kingston University in London suggests. Amateur cyclists were allowed to eat 40 grams of dark chocolate per day for a period of two weeks. In a subsequent endurance test, they used less oxygen and managed to cover a further distance in two minutes than control persons who had nibbled on white chocolate.

Dilated blood vessels

The turbo effect of chocolate can probably be explained by its influence on nitric oxide production in the body, according to the researchers. The formation of this metabolic product is promoted by the so-called epicatechin, which is contained in large quantities in cocoa beans. Nitric oxide dilates the blood vessels in the organism and thus reduces the need for oxygen - this is why the "doped" athletes performed better in the endurance test.

The effect of beetroot is based on a similar principle, only here it is the nitrate contained in the red juice that induces the body to produce more nitric oxide.

Looking for the optimal dose

Patel and his colleagues recommend the treats as natural training aids based on their study results. But in moderation - because dark chocolate also contains fat and sugar. In further investigations, Patel would like to find out when the chocolate boost effect sets in and how high the optimal athlete chocolate dose per day is. (away)

Source: Patel R.K. et al .: Dark chocolate supplementation reduces the oxygen cost of moderate intensity cycling, J Int Soc Sports Nutr., 2015 Dec, doi: 10.1186 / s12970-015-0106-7

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