Cocoa Polyphenols improve energy, depression and anxiety in a small study of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Researchers at Hull York Medical School, UK, conducted a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover study on ten subjects with chronic fatigue syndrome who had severe fatigue. They were supplemented with cocoa-polyphenol rich chocolate or the same without the polyphenols daily for 8 weeks. No one received anything for two weeks (a washout period) and then they were switched or crossed-over into the opposite group.

All subjects had a significant improvement in their fatigue while on the cocoa-polyphenols and they also had a significant improvement in their Hospital Anxiety and Depression score. The study is published in the November 22nd, 2010 issue of Nutrition Journal.