Include chocolate in the diet of athletes

The chocolate It is not so bad, but we must choose the one that contains cocoa lor as pure as possible and not poor quality substitutes with endless additives.

Cocoa benefits

Studies attribute different properties to it:

• Antioxidant power
• It appears to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, improving the lipid profile, lowering blood pressure and LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and increasing HDL ("good").
• Reduces insulin resistance.
• It appears to improve cognitive ability through oxygenation of the brain.

A study from the University of California School of Medicine, published in the journal "Clinical and Translational Science" shows that pure cocoa can increase the ability to perform physical exercise. The study participants consumed black bars with extra content of epicatechin, a natural flavonoid found in cocoa. After three months, when performing the muscle biopsy, they showed significant increases in the number of mitochondria, also had more ridges inside, an indicator of increased efficiency when producing energy to supply the cells. The study shows that consuming pure cocoa can be beneficial in people who perform regular and semi-professional physical exercise, that is, it has no effect on people who do start in sports.

How to choose chocolate

Conventional tablets are around 30-35% cocoa, the first ingredient being sugar with a much higher percentage. Even in the case of supposedly dark chocolate (that is, with a higher percentage of cocoa), in many cases it does not exceed 50% and it has a lot of sugar, which invalidates the vast majority of benefits it provides.

Therefore I encourage you to choose the better quality chocolate following some simple rules:

• Chocolate should be at least 70% cocoa, but much better if it is 85% or more.
• The first ingredient must be cocoa, be it pasta or dough. If it indicates that the first ingredient is sugar, it invalidates the vast majority of benefits it provides as they will not be in sufficient quantities. It is common to find other ingredients such as cocoa butter (it is the natural fat of cocoa), cocoa powder and sugar, but the latter should appear in the last places, not in the first. Sometimes we find them with the aroma of vanilla, nuts ... all "allowed". It is preferable that they are not sweetened.

Recipes with cocoa for athletes

It can be taken one or two ounces in isolation or it can be added to appetizing preparations whether there is a strong workout or not:

• Bowl of yogurt, banana, almonds and cocoa: Serve two skimmed yogurts, a handful of almonds, a chopped banana and a heaping tablespoon of pure cocoa in a bowl.
• Homemade energy bar of nuts, dried fruit, cereals, seeds and cocoa: mixture of 100 grams of raw nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews ...), 100 grams of muesli, 150 grams of dried fruit (raisins, dates, dried apricots ...), seeds (sunflower and / or pumpkin seeds, seeds of sesame or poppy ...) and 2 ounces of cocoa. …). Crush the mixture of nuts, the dried fruit and the ounces of cocoa (separately). Mix the preparations and add the muesli. Stir well until smooth. Shape and let it rest for a couple of hours.
• Oatmeal, banana and cocoa porridge: In a saucepan over medium heat, put the milk (a cup) and the rolled oats (four or five tablespoons). Let it boil continuously for five to six minutes, stirring often so that the mixture is even and creamy. One or two minutes before the porridge is ready, chop ½ banana and add it to the casserole and stir. Serve in a bowl, let it rest for 10 minutes and sprinkle one or two tablespoons of cocoa to taste.

Studies linking chocolate and sport open new avenues for research. Choosing chocolate as pure as possible, as long as a regular diet is followed, can even be beneficial, so it can be used to give a different "touch" to snacks between meals or as sports foods.

• Studies attribute different properties to it: antioxidant power, improves lipid profile, reduces LDL cholesterol, increases HDL cholesterol and reduces insulin resistance, among others.
• To choose chocolate properly, the first ingredient must be cocoa, either paste or dough, but never sugar.
• The consumption of pure cocoa shows, when performing the muscle biopsy, an increase in the number of mitochondria, an indicator of increased efficiency when producing energy to supply the cells.

Diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics Specialist in pharmacology, nutrition and sports supplementation Collaborator at Advance Medical