3 Benefits Of Dark Chocolate For Muscle Growth and Endurance

Could this be the post we have all been waiting for? Can we finally throw out all of the rice and broccoli and rely only on chocolate?

A few years ago we heard that a glass of red wine a night is actually good for you, now we get the perfect pairing for the perfect diet: red wine and chocolate everyday!

Unfortunately it is not that simple, but it is true however that 40-60 daily grams of dark chocolate does have its benefits as long as the chocolate is at least 70-85% cocoa content.

Increased Muscle Growth

It all has to do with inhibiting Myostatin.

“Myostatin is a protein that regulates muscle growth. It restricts muscle growth to avoid hypertrophy (excessive development of an organ). Inhibiting Myostatin significantly increases muscle growth, but artificial means for it don’t exist yet.

Myostatin has a counterpart: Follistatin, a regulating protein that interrupts myostatin’s signals. Both proteins counteract each other to achieve homeostasis (bodily balance).”

MuscleAndStrength.com

So where does chocolate come in?

“Most of dark chocolate’s magic relies on epicatechin, one of the many naturally-occurring chemicals found in cocoa beans called flavanols. Flavanols are compounds that improve health and performance. The darker, less processed, and more pure chocolate is the higher concentration of flavanols inside.”

MuscleAndStrength.com

When dark chocolate (70-85%) is ingested the flavanols that come with epicatechin begin the production of more follistatin, thus creating a stronger interruption of myostatin which in turn allows more muscle mass to be grown.

Related: Benefits of Beet Juice For Crossfit Athletes

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Increased Production of Testosterone

Testosterone increases levels of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and when more HGH is present muscle mass is easier to be packed on.

Men with low levels of testosterone have higher amounts of fat and less amounts of muscle, a deadly combo.

“Epicatechin stimulates the pituitary gland, signaling the increased secretion of two hormones: GnRH (Gonadotropin releasing hormone) and LH (Luteinizing hormone).

This leads to stronger testosterone production, which has other indirect benefits such as increased muscle strength, endurance, growth and improved sexual function.”

MuscleAndStrength.com

Improved Muscular Endurance

The #1 reason why dark chocolate is one of the best foods to help erectile dysfunction is the same reason why we it is so good for improved muscular endurance: increased blood flow.

The same flavanols responsible for building more muscle also allow us to increase blood flow through increased nitric oxide.

“Nitric oxide is involved in many cell processes, including the widening of the blood vessels, or vasodilation. Wider blood vessels help increase the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to working muscles during exercise, thus enhancing exercise performance.”

Healthline

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