Eating Chocolate Can Alleviate Pain, Study Finds

Eating chocolate or drinking a glass of water when neither hunger nor thirst is present can act almost like a painkiller in that they trigger relief, a new study quoted by The Telegraph has found. Conducted on rats, the study has also helped researchers establish that there is no connection between pain relief and sugary content, as it was previously believed.

“The distraction of eating and drinking water for pleasure acts as a natural way of beating pain, the researchers discovered. The natural painkiller, discovered during testing in rats, is the first to demonstrate such a powerful effect, said the study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.” The Telegraph writes of the study. Rats drinking water or eating a chocolate chip were slower to respond to the stimulus provided by the heated floor by raising a paw off it than those who were not drinking or eating.

Therefore, the conclusion that researchers have reached is that eating and drinking for pleasure (that is, when hunger and thirst are not an issue) can trigger pain relief, even if momentarily. The observations made on rats can very easily apply to humans as well, researchers believe, as The Telegraph points out. However, further studies in this sense are still required to establish the exact degree of pain indulging in a treat can alleviate.

“It’s a strong, strong effect, but it’s not about hunger or appetite. If you have all this food in front of you that’s easily available to reach out and get, you’re not going to stop eating, for basically almost any reason.” lead author Peggy Mason, a professor of neurobiology, says about the findings. Mason also has a word of advice for doctors who are in the habit of handing out lollipops to the children they treat. “Stop giving patients lollipops. Ingestion is a painkiller but we don’t need the sugar. Water blunts pain, too.” she says.