Briefly about how your favorite product will help you achieve the best results on the next 100-kilometer race.
« Chocolate has two ingredients that make it great for workouts: carbohydrates and antioxidants ", - claims Natalie Rizzo, Ph.D., author of the book " T he No-Brainer Nutrition Guide For Every Runner ».
Any type of chocolate - white, milky or black- contains a lot of carbohydrates: thanks to the sugar included in its composition. But not by sugar alone, for it quickly " burns down". And cyclists need carbs.” more difficult". Where to find such? Answer: dark chocolate.
And than " blacker", all the better. Main reason:
- it has less sugar and more antioxidants.
« About half a bar of dark chocolate with 85% cocoa contain about 15 grams of carbohydrates and 230 calories , - claims Rizzo. - In addition, darker chocolate contains more antioxidants than milk chocolate.».
Carbohydrates and calories are good, but how can your favorite treat boost endurance and performance? What does science say about this and how can you make chocolate work more effectively on the body during a workout?
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1. Chocolate increases the "aerobic capacity" of cells
Studies have shown that eating dark chocolate helps improve maximum level VO2 and improve oxygen efficiency. When sedentary people in the experiment consumed 20 g dark chocolate daily for three months, they experienced a 17% increase in their maximum VO2.
- VO2max shows maximum amount of oxygen , which the body can use within one minute and is measured in ml / min / kg. The higher this value, the more oxygen gets to the muscles, and the longer / faster you can pedal / run / swim.
One of possible causes? Researchers believe it's all thanks to epicatechin and flavonol contained in cocoa. It is these substances that help the mitochondria to function more efficiently. power plants» your cells.
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2. Prevention of inflammatory processes
More flavonoids « kill» inflammatory processes. « By the way, flavonoids also available in white chocolate. But there are more in black.", - teases Rizzo.
« Since cycling causes acute inflammation in the muscles and joints, eating chocolate before or after a workout can help reduce inflammation and the mild pain associated with it.", - continues the scientist.
In addition, there are studies showing that flavonoids beneficial for brain and heart health.
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3. Mind in order
Cocoa contains a hormone serotonin regulating mood. The darker the chocolate, the more serotonin it contains.
« Good mood appears- and the training goes like clockwork", - He speaks Ryan Johnson, strength and conditioning coach, owner of a fitness company HOMAGE who taught Scarlett Johansson , Ryan Gosling and Sebastian Stan . The trainer uses dark chocolate to bring the mood of the clients" in order and prepare them for training.
« Eat some dark chocolate before your workout starts to create positive feedback.", - He speaks Johnson.
Source: pinterest.com
4. Drive longer and further
Caffeine, found in dark chocolate, may allow you to ride longer. A study published in Journal of sports medicine found that caffeine consumption increased strength and endurance. In addition, consuming caffeine with carbohydrates helps speed up muscle recovery after a hard workout.
Many people believe that sweet, delicious food cannot be healthy.
It is not necessary to divide food into “bad” and “good”, but it is better to look at the pleasure received from food and nutrients. Today we will talk about the beneficial properties of dark chocolate.
Dark chocolate not only has a great taste, it is useful for losing weight and building muscle mass.
Dark chocolate owes its magical properties mainly to epicatechin, one of the natural substances - flavonoids found in cocoa beans. The darker the chocolate and the less processed it is, the higher the concentration of flavonoids in it.
Therefore, the beneficial properties of dark chocolate do not apply to milk chocolate and varieties with a cocoa mass fraction of less than 70%. In addition, chocolate must be produced without alkaline treatment, as the concentration of flavonoids is reduced by 60% as a result of alkalization.
Good bitter chocolate
The healing properties of epicatechin are a hot topic in recent research. For starters, it's a powerful antioxidant.
Some studies show that it also reduces the risk of stroke, cancer, and certain metabolic disorders such as diabetes. Thus, dark chocolate is equally useful for men who want to gain muscle mass, and women, as a rule, seeking to lose weight.
Scientists from the Harvard University Medical School found that the indigenous population South America, consuming a very large amount of a drink made from natural cocoa beans, are much less likely to suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system.
Benefits of dark chocolate for women
Let's start from afar and talk about the hormones of happiness - endorphins. How does chocolate make us feel? Pleasure? It has been proven that the intake of chocolate improves mood, calms, smoothes the feeling of loneliness. When we receive this treat, our body produces endorphins.
A large amount of serotonin is released if you occasionally treat yourself to dark chocolate. Serotonin relieves stress, has a positive effect on sleep and appetite, and forms a sense of pleasure. Just do not forget, there is no directly proportional relationship between the amount of chocolate eaten and the strength of the pleasure received. The “formula” rather boils down to the following: a healthy, self-satisfied, benevolent and joyful person attracts good luck to himself.
Dark chocolate for appetite suppression
Epicatechin stimulates the production of ghrelin, an appetite suppressant hormone, by sending satiety signals to the brain. It helps you not to overeat.
Chocolate for blood sugar regulation
Insulin, as you know, is responsible for removing glucose from the bloodstream and triggering protein synthesis in muscle cells. An excess concentration of insulin leads to insulin resistance, which prevents the removal of glucose from the bloodstream.
This condition can lead to a range of serious illnesses such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome. epicatechin, in large quantities contained in dark chocolate, accelerates the excretion of glucose and increases insulin sensitivity, stabilizing blood glucose levels.
Dark chocolate boosts testosterone production
Firstly, the use of dark chocolate has a positive effect on the production of the main male hormone - testosterone. Epicatechin stimulates the pituitary gland to signal an increase in the secretion of two hormones: gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). As a result, testosterone production is enhanced, which affects the increase in muscle strength and volume, as well as sexual function. Increasing testosterone production will bring maximum benefit to intensive weight training.
Dark chocolate as a vasodilator
Another interesting feature of healthy dark chocolate for the elderly is that flavonoids from natural cocoa beans increase blood flow, similar to the popular pharmaceutical drug Viagra. In other words, cocoa acts as a natural vasodilator and helps to maintain sexual activity longer.
Long endurance workouts are obviously not for everyone, but if you love to exercise, you'll love it - epicatechin stimulates blood vessel dilation. The result is increased blood flow and circulation, lowered blood pressure and improved athletic performance.
Strengthening the growth of muscle mass
Flavonoids also increase nitric oxide levels by inhibiting the enzymes that break it down. Nitric oxide is very useful in that it stimulates the growth of satellite cells that restore damaged muscle tissue after high intensity workout. The importance of this property only increases with age, as in older people the production of satellite cells decreases, which automatically slows down the recovery of muscle tissue after damage.
Myostatin is a protein that inhibits muscle growth and differentiation, it stops hypertrophy. Suppression of myostatin leads to a significant acceleration of muscle mass growth. And myostatin has an antagonist: follistatin, a regulatory protein that suppresses myostatin signals. Both proteins act on each other until homeostasis (balance in the body) is achieved. The result is a significant, but not excessive, increase in muscle mass, which natural athletes strive for. The results of recent studies on epicatechin have shown that the consumption of flavonoids stimulates the production of follistatin. Myostatin levels decrease naturally and muscle mass growth is accelerated without side effects characteristic of taking anabolic steroids.
Strengthening Muscular Endurance
This item is under review as experiments have only been performed on animals. An experiment on rats described in The Journal of Physiology showed that a daily dose of epicatechin significantly increased their endurance. They were able to complete more exercises over a longer period of time.
Increased endurance in rodents as a result of taking nutritional supplements persisted after the abolition of daily exercise. Although such an experiment has not yet been conducted in humans, the results of the study look promising for the human body. Such an effect can be very useful for athletes in the decline of sports form.
How much dark chocolate should (and can) be eaten?
To obtain a general health effect, the daily dose of dark chocolate can be about 30 grams (but remember that 100 g of dark chocolate contains 550 kcal). Remember that it should contain at least 70-85% cocoa.
If you are losing weight, you can reduce this dosage and vice versa: for muscle growth and strength, the dosage should be increased to 40-50 grams of dark chocolate per day.
By the way, epicatechin can be taken not only in the form of dark chocolate, but also in the form sports supplement 100-300 mg daily.
Conclusion
As a result of the emergence of more and more data on the benefits of flavonoids, the reputation of dark chocolate is changing before our eyes - it is not only a sweet treat, but also a product that is useful for the body.
While the outlook for dark chocolate and epicatechin looks bright, research on these compounds is still ongoing. If you want to consume dark chocolate in order to accelerate the growth of muscle mass, then the rest of the diet should contribute to this goal. You can't eat haphazardly, don't keep track of calories and protein, and expect dark chocolate to do all the work for you.
Today, on the Internet, you can find recipes for many diets designed for people who lead an active lifestyle and do fitness. An interesting set of such recommendations can be found, for example, on the site selderey.net.
Unfortunately, advice on fitness nutrition is often incomplete, as it is given by people who do not have a scientific education in this area. After all, in our country we simply do not have such university faculties as “Sport and Exercises Science”, which train professional fitness trainers with a scientific knowledge base in many countries of the world.
In the same article you will find a recommendation on a fitness diet, which is given to their wards by professional fitness trainers in Western Europe. The recommendation, which often causes amazement among many ordinary people who seek to lead healthy lifestyle life, since cocoa is not associated with proper fitness nutrition. And yet, it is connected to it.
Why should fitness diets include cocoa?
During training, an increase in the number of free radicals, and in order to minimize their negative impact on the body, people involved in fitness, personal fitness trainers are always advised to follow a diet with high content antioxidants. And one of the options for such a diet is a diet that includes a significant amount of cocoa.
Cocoa is rich in antioxidants, the molecules of which prevent the oxidation of biomolecules and cell damage. At the same time, antioxidants are useful not only in the prevention of oxidative damage to cells, but also in the restoration of existing defects caused by free radicals.
Not surprisingly, a study published recently in the international scientific journal "Journal of Physiology" found that cocoa contains a natural antioxidant flavanol, which can increase endurance during training, even for professional athletes.
However, antioxidants are not the only rationale for including cocoa on a fitness diet menu.
Cocoa is one of the best food sources magnesium, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the heart, which is especially important for people who take on additional physical activity.
Magnesium takes part in more than 300 enzymatic reactions. It is involved in the synthesis of fats, proteins and nucleic acids; without it, muscle contractions are impossible, including contraction of the heart muscle. Magnesium improves blood flow and plays a key role in the metabolism of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), in the form of which the human body stores energy reserves.
In addition to magnesium, cocoa is enriched with other trace elements necessary for people who lead an active lifestyle and are engaged in fitness. These are potassium and iron.
Our advertising for replenishing magnesium reserves in the body advises taking medicines, for example, Panangin, positioning it as "nutrition for the heart." However, uncontrolled intake of Panangin may well lead to an overdose of magnesium, which can be more dangerous than its lack. Therefore, it is much more reasonable to replace Panangin with natural cocoa.
Below is a recipe for a delicious and healthy cocoa banana smoothie for athletes and just people who lead an active lifestyle and do fitness.
Banana chocolate smoothie for fitness nutrition
Ingredients: 1 cup coconut water (or dairy-free milk), 2 tablespoons raw cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons chia seeds (soak in liquid for 3-5 minutes), 1 small handful baby spinach or 1/2 tablespoon dried herbs , a pinch of pink Himalayan salt (or air-dried sea salt); 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, half a banana, 2/3 cup ice, 1-2 teaspoons almond oil.
Many bodybuilders are interested in knowing how dark chocolate affects the body. Is it useful or not? And the answer, it turns out, is simple - certainly useful. But first things first. It should be said right away that when you are tired and overtired, chocolate will not only become a delicious treat, but will also cheer you up.
Useful properties of chocolate
Due to the presence of sugar and fat in chocolate, the content of two main neurotransmitters in the body increases: ephedrine and serotonin. Determined that low level These substances cause feelings of depression and anxiety. When there are enough of these substances in the body, the person begins to feel good.
Also, when eating chocolate, a person actually heals himself. Scientists have conducted studies trying to find the relationship between the presence of healthy fats in the body and the risk of diseases of the cardiovascular system.
As a result of these experiments, it was proved that stearic acid, which is part of chocolate, does not affect cholesterol levels. This made it possible to remove this product from the number of potentially dangerous for the heart. Thus, even if a bar of chocolate is eaten, the body will not be harmed, but only the mood will improve. Cholesterol levels will also remain at the same level.
Chocolate contains a huge amount of antioxidants, including flavonol and flavonoid. It has been experimentally established that these substances have cardioprotective properties. Thanks to them, blood viscosity decreases, the walls of blood vessels expand, which significantly improves blood flow.
In addition, antioxidants help maintain normal blood pressure. If we talk about antioxidants, then most of them are found in cocoa powder, which in general turned out to be one of the most valuable products due to the absence of sugar and low calorie content. But after him just goes dark and bitter chocolate. Dark contains the highest amount of flavanol, twice that of milk.
Chocolate and sports
A special study on the amount of antioxidants in various foods was conducted by Dr. Yung Lee. For the experiment, he chose cocoa powder, green and black tea, and red wine. As a result, cocoa powder unconditionally took the first place, beating the “silver medalist” - red wine by more than two times. Black tea contains the least amount of antioxidants.
The effect on the body of an athlete of flavonoids, which contains bitter chocolate, was also studied. For the experiment, more than 20 people were involved, who consumed one tile of the product daily for two weeks. Then, also for two weeks, the athletes participating in the experiment adhered to their usual diet, excluding only vitamin and mineral supplements and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from the diet.
As a result, it was proved that under the influence of flavonoids, blood flow improved significantly. It is also worth noting that chocolate is also useful for losing weight, due to the presence of a large number proanthocyanides.
Is chocolate harmful?
Based on all the research, it is safe to say that eating chocolate will only benefit the body. But it should be remembered that the product contains a lot of fat and sugar. In addition to it, fish, nuts, seeds and other foods are also sources of antioxidants.
It is also worth remembering about cocoa, in which there is practically no fat and sugar. But if you happen to be a chocolate lover, then you should not deny yourself the pleasure.
Video about the benefits and harms of chocolate:
After a workout, you need to quickly restore the reserves of nutrients in the body. A great way to do this is to drink a glass of cocoa. The drink contains proteins and carbohydrates in large quantities.
The composition of the drink includes cocoa powder, as well as milk or water and sugar. The finished drink contains:
- Proteins;
- Carbohydrates;
- Fats;
- Micro and macro elements - potassium, magnesium, calcium, copper;
- Polyphenols.
Of the polyphenols, this product primarily contains bioflavonoids - catechin, epicatechin and procyanidins.
The effect of cocoa
Drinking a glass of this drink after a workout allows you to quickly restore the reserves of proteins and carbohydrates. According to American researchers, cocoa for athletes is even more effective than sports nutrition.
The use of cocoa has a complex effect on the body:
- Proteins serve as building blocks for muscles;
- Carbohydrates are needed to replenish the energy balance of muscle tissue;
- Milk allows you to replenish the supply of water, which is actively excreted during training in the form of sweat;
- With the loss of fluid during intense training, it also removes potassium, calcium and magnesium ions, which are contained in cocoa in sufficient quantities to quickly make up for the deficiency.
Thanks to the use of cocoa, the muscles will recover faster. But the benefits of its use do not end there - it has many other positive effects.
Cocoa improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, which has a positive effect on athletic performance. Due to the activation of blood circulation, the influx of nutrients into the tissues increases, which are better absorbed and quickly distributed throughout the body. The flavonoids included in the composition also protect the heart from damage.
How to drink cocoa after training
Cocoa is sold in the form of a powder, which must be poured into milk or water. The first option is preferable - it's no secret that milk is a valuable source of protein, which is so necessary for the body during active sports. A drink made with milk has a much higher nutritional value.
Cocoa contains caffeine, which interferes with the work of insulin. As a result, the body cannot properly absorb proteins and carbohydrates. Therefore, cocoa, like coffee, should not be drunk immediately after a workout. It is worth waiting two hours after training before taking this drink.
It must be consumed cold. It must be borne in mind that this is a high-calorie drink, so drinking it in large quantities sometimes leads to a set excess weight. At the moment, it is worth paying attention to everyone who plays sports in order to lose weight.
Thus, drinking cocoa after a workout is an easy way to replenish protein, carbohydrates and water, thereby ensuring rapid muscle recovery and good opportunities for their growth. Regular consumption of cocoa improves athletic performance and has a complex beneficial effect on the body, so everyone who has not paid attention to this product before should definitely do it.