A bar of dark chocolate can lighten mood

Eating dark chocolate could boost your mood and relieve symptoms of depression, scientists have claimed.

Adults who tucked into a bar had 70 per cent lower odds of feeling depressed than those who ate no chocolate at all, a study of 13,626 participants in the United States found. The research also showed that the 25 per cent who ate the most chocolate were less likely to report depressive symptoms than those who did not eat it.

Chocolate contains pyschoactive ingredients which produce a feeling of euphoria similar to cannabis, according to some experts. And dark chocolate also contains antioxidant chemicals called flavonoids, which reduce inflammation in the body that is linked to depression.