LONDON - Forget tea with honey and lemon: chocolate will cure your sore throat, according to research by the University of Hull.
Professor Alyn Morice, head of cardiovascular and respiratory studies at the University of Hull, researched the potential healing abilities of chocolate. “I know that might sound like something out of Mary Poppins, but as an independent clinician who has spent years researching the mechanism of cough, I can assure you the evidence is solid”, the professor claimed to the Daily Mail.
The largest study into over-the-counter cough remedies ever undertaken in Europe showed some remarkable results. It proved that cough medicines that contains cacao actually work better than regular anti-cough products. The study also found that patients taking the chocolate-based medicine had a significant improvement in symptoms within two days.
According to professor Morice, this simply is due to the fact that chocolate is stickier and more viscose than standard cough medicine ingredients, therefore forming a coating that protects nerve endings in the throat which trigger the need to cough. Morice: “I’m sure it has a pharmacological activity, some sort of inhibitory effect on the nerve endings themselves.” Sucking on a piece of chocolate is more effective than drinking it - as the longer the cocoa is in contact with the throat, the more effect. However, according to Morice it’s the mix with chocolate and other ingredients that make it so effective as a cough remedy.
So if you have a sore throat, start by nibbling on a chocolate bar, then head over to the pharmacy to get yourself some cacao cough syrup!
Source: Daily Mail, Metro
