Researchers tested if ingesting different chocolate products in varying quantities may reduce pain experimentally caused by injecting hypertonic saline into the masseter muscle of healthy adults in a recent study published in PLOS ONE.
Background
Pain is a global health issue that reduces life quality and has severe cost consequences for patients, healthcare providers, and society. Acute or chronic pain might be nociceptive, neuropathic, idiopathic, or nociplastic.
Tryptophan, an essential amino acid in chocolate and required for serotonin production, is connected to cocoa. Cocoa-derived goods high in flavanols can help reduce inflammation. According to animal research, cocoa-rich diets reduce pain linked with neuroinflammation, hinting that cocoa might be utilized as an alternative pain medication.
Concerning the research
Researchers tested if ingesting goods with varying cocoa content would decrease pain generated by injecting hypertonic saline into the masseter muscle of healthy male and female Swedish adults in the current experimental, double-blind, randomized controlled study.
The study included 30 young people (15 males and 15 females) aged 40 years and involved three follow-up visits with a washout interval of 7.0 days between March 1 and December 20, 2020. The team instilled pain twice during each visit by injecting 0.20 mL of 5.0% hypertonic saline intramuscularly, followed by 3.60 grams of dark, white, or milk chocolate containing 70%, 34.0%, and 30.0% cocoa, respectively.
For more than 30 minutes, the pressure pain threshold (PPT) and pain duration, location, and peak intensity were assessed every five minutes following the saline injection. Individuals with orofacial or temporomandibular joint discomfort, headaches, musculoskeletal disorders (rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia), whiplash injuries, neurological diseases, mental problems, or saline allergies were excluded from the study.
At the initial visit, all people answered questions about their psychosocial well-being, including anxiety, somatization, sadness, stress, and pain catastrophizing, based on the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) Axis II criteria.
In addition, the researchers employed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 and 15, the 13-item Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS-13), and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) to assess emotional well-being. The pain intensity was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).
Discussion of the findings
Male and female participants had mean ages of 24 and 25 years, respectively. The majority of people (27 out of 30) preferred milk chocolate, with mean scores of 2.7, 2.4, and 1.9 points for milk, white, and dark chocolate, respectively. After 105 to 210 seconds of producing pain, white chocolate eating dramatically lowered pain intensity.
White chocolate significantly reduced pain severity in men 60 to 240 seconds after pain induction. However, there were no significant variations in white chocolate intake, and the interactions between time and white chocolate intake were non-significant. Similarly, the associations between milk chocolate consumption and duration were insignificant.
However, after 255 seconds of producing pain, milk chocolate dramatically lowered pain intensity in females. Dark chocolate consumption significantly decreased pain intensity in men from 75 to 210 seconds after producing pain, however the interactions between dark chocolate consumption and duration were non-significant.
Furthermore, white chocolate significantly lowered pain severity in males following 165.0 seconds to four minutes of pain induction. Consuming white chocolate and milk chocolate reduced the peak values for pain severity by 3% and 7%, respectively. However, eating chocolate had no effect on the PPT, duration, or distribution of the generated pain. Because of the tiny amount of chocolate consumed, the alterations in pain feelings may have been restricted.
Milk and white chocolate reduced pain more efficiently than dark chocolate, which might be attributed to differences in sugar content, a component with analgesic qualities owing to opioid release. Furthermore, pleasurable food-taste experiences can trigger the brain to generate neurotransmitters and endorphins that boost pain tolerance. As a result, although having comparable cocoa contents, the most popular milk chocolate may have a bigger influence on pain severity than white chocolate. Dark chocolate produced the least significant results, most likely due to its low sugar content and unpleasant flavor.
Conclusion`
Overall, the study findings revealed that consuming chocolate (of any type) five minutes before a painful stimuli can dramatically lower pain intensity, particularly in men following white chocolate consumption. The findings suggested that elements other than cocoa in chocolates, such as sugar, as well as preferences and taste sensations, might explain chocolate’s pain-relieving properties.
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