Parkinson’s has been known and studied for hundreds of years but in many ways not much is known about it especially how to prevent it, stop the progression of it, or cure the disease. Research is often contradictory. The latest uncertainty is about chocolate. Is it good for PD, is it bad for PD, or does not affect PD at all? Interesting fact, people with Parkinson’s seem to like and consume significantly more chocolate than people that don’t have PD even in people where consumption in the amount of other sweets is the same.
What is chocolate and why does it taste so good? The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec language word xocolātl which is a combination of the words xococ (meaning ‘sour or bitter’), and ātl (‘water or drink’) because for most of it’s existence chocolate was consumed as a drink. Chocolate contains stimulants like phenylethylamine (B-PEA) and caffeine which give you a positive boost and the feel good chemical anandamine. Europeans added sugar and honey as sweeteners. The result is that nearly everyone likes it and the rest is history.
A study by Dresden University of Technology in Germany has suggested that eating dark chocolate on a daily basis could help ease symptoms of Parkinson's disease. It is believed that phenylethlamine, a cocoa compound, can increase the release of dopamine in the brain and help prevent PD symptoms like tremors.
A word of warning though, the same phenylethlamine may be toxic to dopamine neurons. Some studies cautioned not to eat too much dark chocolate as it is one of the foods richest in B-phenethylamine which may actually cause Parkinson’s. B-PEA could lead to the production of hydroxyl radicals that stress dopamine producing areas of the brain and cause PD.
Other studies report that chocolate neither harms nor is beneficial for PD and that more research is needed. I would volunteer for that clinical trial. It would be a honey of a study and produce one sweet report. So what is a poor PWP to do? If you like chocolate eat it with pleasure.
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