According to a Japanese study a daily cup of hot cocoa during influenza season may be just what we need to avoid the flu and stay healthy.
The Japanese researchers conducted a three-part chocolate study that included cell tests, animal experiments, and human trials.
In the animal trial, mice were given cocoa extract for four days before being infected with the flu virus. The cocoa extract had a preventative effect and significantly improved survival times of the mice.
The daily dose of cocoa for the mice was equivalent to a human drinking two to three cups of a 10% cocoa solution. In other words, the amounts were close to what a person might normally drink in a cup of hot chocolate.
Then, the researchers tested their findings in humans. They divided 123 people into two groups. Both groups were vaccinated against the influenza A (H1N1) virus.
After two weeks, antibodies against the A (H1N1) virus were not significantly different between the two groups. But the cocoa drinking group had significantly more natural killer (NK) cell activity. NK cells recognize and eliminate influenza-virus-infected cells in order to keep the virus from spreading.
In other words, NK cell activity is an indicator of the body’s natural immunity. Vaccine-induced elevations in antibodies, on the other, do not necessarily equate to bona fide immunity against infection as they are only a proxy measure of effectiveness. The fact that cocoa consumption significantly increased compared to the control group suggests that drinking cocoa may inhibit influenza virus infection by stimulating natural immunity and therefore confer real world protection against onset of the flu.
Other studies had already found that chocolate elevates NK cell activity against cancer cells. The Japanese researchers believed their finding concerning the NK cell activity may suggest that cocoa polyphenols and especially procyanidins in chocolate might be effective in treating and preventing colorectal cancers and hepatitis B virus infection in humans.
How Does Chocolate Work Against the Flu?
The researchers concluded that drinking cocoa works in three different ways.First, it inhibits the virus from adsorbing to target cells, as shown in their cell study.
Second, cocoa activates natural immunity. In their human trial they found that cocoa enhanced the immune response from the flu vaccination. In that way it provides stronger protection against influenza virus infection and disease onset.
Third, drinking hot cocoa has an anti-inflammatory effect. The researchers believe that the increased survival rates of mice fed cocoa may have been due to the elimination of virus-infected cells in the early stages and promotion of anti-inflammatory effects at the inflammation site.
And there’s one more interesting way that chocolate fights the flu.
The researchers suggested that immediately after drinking cocoa, its healing compounds are present in the mouth, pharynx, and throughout the digestive tract at concentrations that inhibit infection. These compounds work immediately and for some time after consumption. And they work in precisely the places where the virus would likely be present.
Some of these compounds include the polyphenols contained in chocolate. Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants and have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.
But even when the researchers removed the polyphenols from the cocoa extract, the remaining compounds in the extract were still effective.
- the bitter component theobromine;
- lignin, a dietary fiber;
- free fatty acids; and
- minerals such as iron, copper, and zinc.
- relieves stress and lowers blood pressure
- better for heart health than statins
- burns belly fat
- lowers diabetes risk
References [i] Kamei M et al, “Anti-influenza virus effects of cocoa.” J Sci Food Agric. 2015 Apr 2. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.7197. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25847473
