Chocolate lovers rejoice! It looks like your favorite treat may do more than just satisfy your sweet tooth. Sure, we’ve heard that dark chocolate can be good for your heart, help lower blood pressure and of course, boost your mood. Now researchers say that chocolate can fight signs of aging too…at least, a specifically altered kind of chocolate can.
Scientists at biotechnology firm Lycotec in the U.K. have discovered a way to modify chocolate to make the most of its anti-aging properties that come from cocoa flavanols—molecules that improve skin oxygenation (an essential factor in slowing the aging process).
Lycotec’s new technology is an ingredient called coco-lycosome, which boosts the power of cocoa flavanols by up to 20 times more than unmodified chocolate. Even better, there’s no need to worry about it tasting like cardboard because researchers found that is has no impact on taste or texture.
“Everyone can benefit from the intrinsic values of cocoa flavanols without compromising their health and habits,” says study scientist and Lycotec founder, Ivan Petyaev. And he believes the modified chocolate is ready to hit the store shelves.
But before you set out on a quest to find this chocolate, it’s important to balance the benefits and the downfalls. After all, too much chocolate can still lead to added calories and added weight. And, more research still needs to be done before there is concrete proof that the new chocolate ingredient is really helpful.