cocoa

Chocolate has a notoriously bad reputation when it comes to migraine.  But much of that reputation isn’t deserved.  Although chocolate may trigger migraine in some, it may actually be ingredients accompanying the chocolate that cause the problem.

As a matter of fact, as you’ve probably heard before, cocoa has some health benefits.  And a recent study from Missouri State University, USA, shows it may have some benefits for headache sufferers in particular.

Now before you get too excited, this was an animal study – on mice.  The mice were fed a cocoa enriched diet for two weeks.  The mice were shown to have less inflammation than those who were deprived of cocoa (poor things!).

The authors of the study felt that a cocoa supplement may help with diseases of the head and face that involved the trigeminal ganglion (part of the trigeminal nerve), not just migraine.

The researchers feel cocoa could be an important part of an anti-inflammatory diet:  Cocoa enriched diets are able to repress the stimulated expression of proteins associated with the promotion and maintenance of inflammatory … responses said the researchers.

This is a very preliminary study, but it may lead to some helpful research in the future – possibly some new supplements that may be very effective.  Of course we shouldn’t all go out and start eating chocolate bars.  However, if chocolate isn’t a trigger for you, adding dark chocolate, low in sugar, and cocoa to your diet may decrease inflammation, as well as being an antioxidant, and a source of magnesium and folic acid.

More ideas and tips regarding chocolate and headache here.  And this video shows a healthy way to add cocoa to your diet, and why.

More on the study here:  Chocolate may ease migraines: Study