Dark Chocolate Improves Athletic Performance
This was a small trial with nine cyclists, but it had a crossover design and one group ate white chocolate and did not get the same results. It is believed that these results from eating dark chocolate were because dark chocolate contains flavonols, including epichatecin, which has been shown to raise nitric oxide levels. Some athletes now consume beet juice because it has nitrates that raise nitric oxide levels in the body and this has been demonstrated in studies to dilate blood vessels and to improve glucose uptake and regulate muscular contraction.(2,3) But beet juice is not exactly great tasting. Dark chocolate seems to have some of the same properties as beet juice and is much more palatable.
Dark chocolate has been studied previously for its effects in reducing blood pressure in hypertensive subjects and for reducing the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.(4,5) Dark chocolate, unique to other dietary nitrate supplements is hypothesised to mediate nitric oxide production through endothelium-dependent effects; related to flavanols’ ability to supress vascular arginase enzyme activity, thus increasing the production of nitric oxide.
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