Dark chocolate - a natural performance enhancer for female athletes 🍫
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Dark Chocolate Mitigates Premenstrual Performance Impairments and Muscle Soreness in Female CrossFit® Athletes: Evidence from a Menstrual-Phase-Specific Trial
Study Details
This new study investigated the effects of dark chocolate on cognitive and physical performance in 15 female CrossFit athletes
Participants consumed 30g/day of either…
1️⃣ 85% dark chocolate
2️⃣ Placebo (low cocoa chocolate)
3️⃣ Control (no intervention)
…for 3 consecutive days at each menstrual cycle phase across 3 separate menstrual cycles🩸
(all participants completing all conditions)
After each 3-day intervention participants completed performance testing 📊
Here is what they found ⬇️
Key Findings
Dark chocolate significantly improved functional performance (via CINDY WOD) across all menstrual phases 🏋️♀️
…with the greatest enhancement during the premenstrual phase 👈
⏱️ Reaction time also significantly improved during the premenstrual phase with dark chocolate
💥 DOMS was notably reduced in the luteal phase at 12-hr, 24-hr, and 72-hr post-exercise in the dark chocolate condition
Conclusion
Short-term 85% dark chocolate intake (~3 days) may enhance high-intensity functional performance and cognitive accuracy in trained female athletes ✅
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40284238/
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Cocoa is a main export in my country of lineage, Ghana. It's in my blood to crave cocoa and the stronger the chocolate, the better. Too bad about the global shortage!