This just out: chocolate might help alleviate some of the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. Granted, it's a small study of only 10 subjects but it involved chocolate! More specifically 15g of chocolate containing 85% cocoa solids three times daily.
The study was well done in that the participants were randomized to either high cocoa solids chocolate or low cocoa solids chocolate for 8 weeks, given a 2 week washout period, and then received another 8 weeks of the other product. The authors used standardized measures to objectively determine the level of fatigue and function before, during & after the intervention. Yet after taking into account issues of calories consumed, glycemic index of the different chocolate products, etc, they concluded that the polyphenols from the high cocoa solids improved the subjects' chronic fatigue score. Better yet, there was no change in weight, suggesting that increase in physical activity countered the extra calories.
To be clear, we're not talking about your average chocolate candy bar. This is the dark stuff for connoisseurs & cognescenti. So if you're used to a lot of sugar in your chocolate, it might take some getting used to. I thought it might be difficult to obtain this stuff for personal consumption but a quick search for "85% cocoa chocolate" presented plenty of purchasing options. For more reasons to include dark chocolate in your daily meals, take a look at some of my older posts from April 2010, October 2008 post #2, October 2008 post #1, & February 2008.
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