King Arthur Movie Tristan

A new study from the Archives of Internal Medicine has produced some surprising results about chocolate consumption.

For many years chocolate has been touted as a mood booster, possibly even good as a natural help for depression. A recent cross-sectional analysis of approximately 981 males and females has produced some puzzling results surrounding this issue.

In the study titled, “Mood Food: Chocolate and Depressive symptoms in a Cross-sectional Analysis,” healthy adults who were not being treated for depression were provided information about the consumption of chocolate. They completed a food frequency questionnaire providing the number of chocolate servings they consumed monthly and were also given a well-known mood assessment test. This study was unique in that it enrolled both males and females and most past studies have been conducted exclusively in women.

A significant relationship was found between increased chocolate servings per month and a positive screen for depression. The statistically significant relationship also held true for people who tested as having probable major depression. This effect was not able to be explained by the increased fat, carbohydrate, or energy intake provided by the extra servings of chocolate.

What this actually means is still unclear. Possible explanations could be that depression stimulates chocolate cravings and people gain a benefit from the chocolate, possibly via antioxidants or other components in the compound, or that eating lots of chocolate may cause depression, or that chocolate may be like alcohol in that it causes temporary euphoria but then causes a lower mood later on.

The results of this study should be interpreted with caution as the study design was cross-sectional rather than double-blind and placebo controlled so it can not detect a true cause and effect relationship.

So, should you eat chocolate? The jury is still out on just how much is beneficial, but for now, enjoy a reasonable amount and avoid excessive consumption of this delicious treat.

You can read more about this study at http://archinte.ama-assn.org or http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/chocolate-depression-connection/story?id=10480501.