Page 16 - What Doctors Don't Tell You - AU-NZ (February-March 2020)

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Dark chocolate keeps

depression away

Chocolate helps prevent depression—but it must be dark. Normal milk
chocolate doesn’t seem to have any positive effects, certainly not when
it comes to mental wellbeing.
Those who eat the most chocolate every day—and that is up to 16
oz (454 g), or a whole small bar—were also the least likely to suffer
clinical depression as diagnosed by a health practitioner.
Their chances of developing depression were 57 percent lower
than others who ate little or no dark chocolate, say researchers from
University College London’s Institute of Epidemiology. They surveyed
more than 13,000 people, and just 1.4 percent of them reported
eating dark chocolate regularly.
But of these, only 1.5 percent of the dark chocolate eaters
reported suffering from depressive symptoms, compared with
7.6 percent of the non-chocolate eaters.
Those eating the most dark chocolate every day—between
3.6 oz (104 g) and 16 oz (450 g)—also were the least likely to
suffer from depression.
Everyone knows that chocolate produces a ‘feel-good’
effect, and this is because of its psychoactive ingredients, but
it also contains phenylethylamine, a neuromodulator that
helps maintain a good mood, and flavonoids, which lower
inflammation, another contributory factor for depression.
Depress Anxiety, 2019 Jul 29

Vitamin D helps diabetics

control sugar levels

Taking vitamin D supplements can slow the progress of type 2
diabetes—and possibly even reverse prediabetes, the precursor
of the disease.
High doses of the supplement—up to 10 times the
recommended daily allowance—help the body regain its
pr
to
ty
e,
ocess
gl
ci
ucos
pa
ca
capacity to process glucose, or blood sugar. Diabetics
have become insulin resista nt, and, as a result, can’t
break down glucose proper ly.
g the supplement for
But after taking
six months , glucose metabolism
started t to improve, say researchers
from L aval University in Quebec. It
had a positive effect even among
etics whose vitamin D levels
diabe
were normal.
Th e researchers tested glucose
abolism in a group of people
meta
with diabetes or prediabetes before
after they were given the
and a
supp
plements. After six months, tests
show
wed that the supplements had
nificantly improved the ability of
sign
insu
ulin to break down glucose.
Eur J Endocrinol, 2019; pii: EJE-19-0156.R2

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