Dark Chocolate and the Aging Clock

If you love dark chocolate, keep your love affair because we just keep finding ways it’s good for us.  

A new study uncovered a chemical called theobromine in dark chocolate that may slow biological aging. No, milk chocolate doesn’t have it; your chocolate must contain at least 50 percent cacao solids.   

The chemical theobromine may slow aging by altering the epigenetic marking of our DNA.  Think of the DNA as your car engine and the epigenome as the software that tells the engine what to do or in this case, the genes to turn on.  

A person’s health and mortality are impacted by which genes are or are not active. This study looked at cells in the blood of almost seventeen hundred people including 500 twins.  People with the highest levels of theobromine had lower levels of biological aging when researchers examined the epigenetic markings on their DNA.     

They also looked at a second biomarker of biological aging by measuring cells’ telomere length.  As we age, the telomere, which is a cap structure at the ends of our chromosomes, shortens destabilizing them.  People with high theobromine levels had the longest telomeres, but it’s too early to conclude without more studies whether theobromine is behind these findings.  

What we do already know is that the antioxidants in dark chocolate might improve mood, protect our heart health, and even help prevent dementia. I’m so glad this is one treat I can indulge in without guilt!