Dark chocolate prevents sunburns, wrinkles
Whoever told you chocolate was bad for your skin, lied. Au contraire, wolfing down the dark variety may actually mean fewer lines on your face as you grow older. Sounds too good to be true? It is!
A study by British researchers suggests dark chocolate, which is rich in antioxidants flavanol, prevents ultraviolet radiation in the sun’s rays from wreaking havoc on your skin.
It not only minimises the risk of skin cancer at excess exposure but also halts wrinkles and fine lines in their tracks.
In the study, researchers led by dermatologist Dr Stefanie Williams of private clinic European Dermatology London, divided 22 female and 8 male middle-aged, fair-skinned subjects into two groups. One group was fed 20 grams of a dark chocolate with high levels of flavanol daily. The other group was fed chocolate that looked like the first one but had much less flavanols.
The researchers routinely exposed the subjects to UV rays and measured the exposure at which their skins became red as a prelude to burning. An analysis of the results showed that the skins of those who ate flavanol-rich dark chocolate took longer to get inflamed than their other group counterparts.
In a report published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, the researchers wrote, “Chronic UV exposure is the main cause of premature skin aging and also plays an important role in (skin cancer). Our study demonstrated that regular consumption of chocolate rich in flavanols confers substantial photoprotection and can thus be effective at protecting human skin from harmful UV effects.”
They said the flavanols in the chocolate may be ‘anti-inflammatory’ and ‘antioxidant’. “But conventional chocolate had no such effect,” said the researchers.
Earlier studies have shown dark chocolates boost cardiovascular, brain and circulatory system health. However, milk chocolates rarely have these benefits as much of the flavanols are lost while processing cocoa beans.
If you must go for those delicious melt-in-your-mouth pleasures, go for the darkies. Hey, it’s therapeutic in more ways than one!
