Who hasn't attempted curing a nagging, persistent cough with one of those over-the-counter cough syrups? Chances are, they didn't help. Coughing is a medical condition that affects most people at some point in time; yet, an effective treatment to suppress it does not exist. However, researchers may have discovered a natural, tasty remedy to coughing: Chocolate. Specifically, a derivative in cocoa, theobromine, was found to be nearly a third more effective than codeine -- currently known as the "best cough medicine."
Theobromine is effective because it suppresses vagus nerve (cranial nerve) activity, which is responsible for coughing. Because persistent coughing can have a serious impact on one's overall quality of life, researchers were motivated to discover a remedy that actually suppressed it.
To do so, they examined the effect of theobromine, in a study involving 10 healthy volunteers. Each volunteer was given theobromine, a placebo or codeine at different times during the study. To determine the effectiveness of each treatment, researchers measured the levels of capsaicin (a compound used to induce coughing) in each volunteer and compared them after each treatment.
Putting Chocolate to the Test
EurekAlert November 22, 2004
You may remember -- particularly if you're a chocolate lover -- a study I posted earlier this year that found small daily doses of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate helped the blood vessels dilate better. Well, as noted in the above article, researchers have now discovered another benefit of chocolate: suppressing persistent coughing.
However, when reading about chocolate-related treatments, you must pay attention to the processing of the cocoa, for the standard manufacturing of chocolate destroys about one-quarter to one-half of its flavonoids. Some companies are now using processing methods with reduced heat and alkalization, which can preserve as much as 70 percent to 95 percent of the chocolate flavonoids.
If you do opt for chocolate, make sure you eat DARK chocolate, for it has antioxidant properties that can protect the body from damaging oxidative stress. It also is far better than milk chocolate, as adding milk cancels out the chocolate's antioxidant effects. Researchers suggested that proteins in the milk bind with the antioxidants, making them less easily absorbed by the body.
WARNING: Chocolate, even if it is dark, still contains large quantities of sugar, and eating sugar is one of the most devastating things you can do to your health. If you're sick, your immune system is working hard to combat your illness, but sugar weakens the immune system. So eating chocolate will only make it harder for your immune system to fight the illness.
Important factors to keep in mind if you want to eat chocolate:
In that same vein, you can also enjoy the benefits chocolate provides (via flavonoids) by consuming fruits like apples and grapes and most all vegetables, including broccoli, greens and onions. Blueberries, however, are the top-rated food as far as antioxidant capacity by the USDA is concerned.
Thus, if you are interested in reaping the benefits of this fruit, you can try the delicious and convenient Wild Blueberry IQ Softgel Capsules, available on my site. The capsules are made from whole, fresh blueberries -- and contain 40mg of potent disease fighting anthocyanins per capsule -- more than any other available supplement.
And lastly, one surefire way to indulge in a little chocolate that is good for you is to try our new energy bar - the Protein Bar. Specially formulated by myself and a team of nutritional experts, Protein Bar is a nutritional powerhouse loaded with a perfect balance of healthy fats, protein and fiber that will truly nourish your body rather than contribute to disease (like so many of the unhealthy bars on the market today do) ... Plus, it really tastes delicious!
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