Chocolate in very small portions could boost your workouts; lower blood pressure

Chocolate may help your workout, not sabotage it.

Scientists gave a group of mice a twice daily dose of purified form of epicatechin, cacao's chief beneficial compound.  These mice outperformed the group of mice who had not been given the chocolate-y supplement, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego. The cacao chemical also increased the physiological response in the test group's leg muscles.

Before you reach for that bar of Hershey's, know that it only takes a bite or two of chocolate to get the benefits.

Skip the milk or white chocolate and go for a nibble – about a fifth of an ounce – of flavenoid-rich dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate in tiny amounts has also been shown to lower blood pressure.


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