As a chocolate lover, I loved getting this research in my inbox today. See below for my take:
New Study: Dark Chocolate Aids in Post-Workout Stress Recovery via @OrganicAuthority
Who wouldn’t love to reward themselves post-workout with a large chocolate bar? I hate to rain on the chocolate parade – the study’s participants received 100g of dark (over 70 % cocoa solids) which is over 3 oz. The calories of that (200-250 calories) may nullify or significantly reduce the workout results. Since the study touts chocolates polyphenols as the hit ingredient, it would follow that other polyphenol-rich foods like pomegranate, cherries, bluberries, acai, blackberries and red grapes would also have similar affects reducing oxidation after workouts without the calorie bang.
Now I’m not saying skip your chocolate; you can certainly use cacao powder added to a smoothie or Oikos plain Greek yogurt (add berries for more polyphenols) to reduce calorie impact vs chocolate bars and again provide protein for lean body mass recovery too. Just caution on how we interpret these sweet findings.
You could also try @Sambazon chocolate acai protein smoothie to also replenish needed protein post-workout too, without overloading on calories.
