Research has already proven that one of the biggest factors in Multiple Sclerosis, as well as many other diseases both autoimmune and otherwise, is that of inflammation. It is becoming apparent that this one indicator of an MS attack is what may be the biggest factor in why people suffer from the debilitating effects of MS, which is why a recent study about chocolates amazing ability to reduce inflammation in both heart attack and stroke victims caught my eye.
This study was done on older adults, and to be fair here, it had nothing to do with multiple sclerosis but the study did show the amazing ability of flavonoids, which are found in chocolate, to decrease inflammation throughout the entire circulatory system as well as the brain. And since the brain is nothing more then a cluster of neuron tissue, which is what MS attacks, I think it’s only safe to assume that chocolate would also significantly reduce inflammation in the nervous system as well.
And this study was done with people who were eating about half of a regular cheap store bought candy bar each day made of mostly milk chocolate and not the darker higher content of cocoa chocolate bars that you find in many health food stores. These chocolate bars cost significantly more then what you pay at your local convenience store and have far less sugar in them, but the flavonoid content of them is many times higher then what milk chocolate contains, which is very little.
If you are unaware of what flavonoids are, you may have heard on the news in the past that drinking either grape juice or red wine is healthful because of the high amount of flavonoids found in them. It’s thought; that maybe the reason why Italians can eat such a high fat and carbohydrate diet without the same incidents of heart disease that we experience in this country is because of the daily glass of wine they consume at lunch and/or dinner. And the flavonoids in chocolate bars with a cocoa content of at least 50% and higher is many times higher then what is found in even a full glass of red wine.
Another natural food that is also extremely high in flavonoids are dried cherries which are actually prescribed by dieticians for many ailments to also fight, or counter, inflammation throughout the body. So if you can find a candy bar with 80% cocoa that also has dried cherries mixed in as well then that’s all that much better and they do make them because that’s what I eat but they cost anywhere from $2.50 to $4.00 dollars. However you only need to eat four or five small pieces to get a large dose of the beneficial flavonoid content which means one candy bar can last a week.
In my opinion this is one of the best things that you can try on your own to see if it may help in reducing some of the effects of multiple sclerosis and the accompanying inflammation. And let’s face it the worst outcome you could experience is that nothing changes accept you have something to look forward to each and every night, either after dinner, or before you go to bed.
Bone Appetite!
By Bill Walker
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Multiple Sclerosis And Beyond 
Very interesting article. I crave chocolate about 3-4 times and for over a year I have gone to drinking red wine 4-5 times week. Mostly started the wine for relaxing as I became an divorcee and widow. I’ve had MS 20 years with Uveitis and Optic Neuritis problems about 4 years. Everything much better about 1 1/2 years. Thanks for the article.
You are most welcome Cheryl. And thank you for your support, but I’m sorry about you having MS and the eye problems. Hopefully we’re getting close to a real treatment or even a cure!
Shame I get the squits when I eat chocolate otherwise I’d be ramming it in!!
That is certainly a problem. What about dried cherries and red wine?
I known people with MS IT IS Amazing how much we have come in search of. Gentic coding. My DR is a Nobel peace prize winner with his Stanford degrees DR Guiroy and his wife create mircles.
Thank you Angela for sharing here!
I already eat 2-3 pieces of Lindt 85% cocoa a night 🙂
Awesome, have you noticed any difference in your health since you’ve been doing this?
I certainly crave chocolate more than I used to. If it can help reduce possibility of inflammation then all for the good !
I totally agree Robert!
Great Article, I hope it does Viral!
It went viral! It now stand stands at 11,502 hits and still climbing!Thanks Rachel!
We eat a good deal of chocolate, as a rule at least 71% cocoa solids and/or liquid. I think that this is a very good article and have shared it in a few places. And then there are also other foods that help to lower inflammation and some supplements as well. And then equally important is not creating inflammation via diet in the first place.
Very, very true! Thanks for sharing with people this has been quite a hit for me. I still haven’t never been freshly pressed yet, but I’ll get there eventually.
Unfortunately, you are badly informed! It is commonly known and there are several scientific studies that show that chocolate has a very bad influence on MS!!! So please do not post such rubbish!
You have the right to disagree!
Well not sure about the rubbish comment, I have MS. And do love a bit of chocolate. And I take notice of the way I feel after eating or drinking different things, just for my own accounts. If I feel bad after I stop that food source. But must say, every time I eat chocolate I feel good. I will get my wife to read this post now as she keeps telling me, no more chocolate. Lol. I’m 10st 6lb. So it’s not even making me fat. Don’t eat every day. But will now. Haha.
I’m not really sure if Eelco really read the whole blog or not to be quite honest. I made it clear, or at least I thought I did, that I was not referring to chocolate that was loaded with sugar, and even stated that eating only a small amount a day was the way to go. I realize that chocolate is loaded with saturated fat which isn’t really great for anyone even if it is essential for proper brain function. I’m about to go and search for those studies he’s referring to and see if there really are any that state what he says. Yesterday, I did a very quick search and didn’t find much of anything that would support his comment, but we’ll see. If nothing else, he gave me a brand new slant on chocolate that I will be writing about in my blog early next week! Thanks for reading and taking the time to respond!
Does this do anything to help Fibromyalgia. I have been diagnosed with a severe case and am on a fairly ow dose of Lyrica, which the Docs are going to increase, although I am having some pretty severe side effects. Thank you.
That would probably be a question for your Doctor. I would think it would be ok to eat chocolate but I don’t know anything about Lyrica other than it’s a nerve pain medication. Chocolate, I suppose, could interact with Lyrica in an adverse way!
Right away I am going to do my breakfast, after having my breakfast coming
yet again to read further news.
This is really interesting, I’ve had a sickness bug all week and the worst headache for several days. I normally have a bit of chocolate every night (and feel really naughty!) but while I’ve been ill I haven’t had any chocolate. Nothing was shifting my headache until i had some chocolate! So I was thinking it Was the chocolate and now I’ve read this I know why! Thank you x
You’re welcome Catherine. And actually chocolate also has caffeine in it as well which might be why it can also get rid of your headache!
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I’m a little confused. When you say “chocolate “. Could you people be more specific about an item I could start eating. I was ready to make a chocolate cobbler and buy me a whole stash of 100,000 dollar candy bars until “msandbeyond” stated she was not talking about chocolate loaded with sugar. I would like a list of specific items you all may be taking about as far as chocolate. I’ve already added the sun-dried cherries to my grocery list, I love them in salad.
Generally the chocolate that I was talking about in the article is chocolate that is at least 72% Cocoa, which you can find in health food section of many national grocery stores. Lindt chocolate bars would be one brand to look for but still read the wrapper for chocolate content information. However, the article that I used read that got my interested in this was about regular high sugar milk chocolate that surprisingly was showing a high rate of anti inflammatory affects on people with heart problems and that in small amounts even with the high fat content and sugar it wasn’t nearly as bad as researchers had always believed it was! I hope that helps!
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This is a wordpress theme that I’m using so I didn’t create it myself per-say. Just google wordpress.com and you can build your own website by following the instructions which are pretty easy for the most part. It’s almost better to learn by just trying then it is for someone else to try and tell you what to do as trial and error is the bets way to not make the same mistakes over and over, even if does get a bit frustrating the first time you do it.
The nice thing about wordpress is that you can build the site, but not publish it until you are completely satisfied with what you see in front of you on the screen or you can wipe it clean and start it all over again at any time. You can even build your site first and then click on different themes to see what you have done in different formats until you find the one that works for you. Just be aware that some formats might drop part of your design because it might not be compatible with that theme.
Just have fun with it, that’s how I learned, with a few swear words thrown in from time to time for good measure! My email address is also at the top of my page if you have any specific questions!
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