Can dark chocolate treat coughing? Apparently, it can! There are some studies that confirm that. Theobromine, a constituent of cocoa can treat consistent coughs without any of the side effects of traditional drugs. Dark chocolate cannot replace medical treatment for viral infections but it can treat a cough that comes with some viral infections and that is good news for us.
Coughs are usually treated with opiates such as codeine. Codeine is also used for treating pain or diarrhea so when studying the effects of theobromine for treating coughs scientists compared the results of people treated with theobromine to the results of patients treated with codeine. Placebo pills were also administered to some people in the study. Now let’s talk about the results.
Lung patients were just a little bit more effective than the placebo pill for preventing coughing, however, those who were on theobromine experienced better results. If you suffer from lung disease, don’t quit your medication for treating coughing with chocolate because you can make your condition worse. Talk to your doctor first and discuss your options.
Another great thing about dark chocolate is that it doesn’t cause any unwanted side effects. Codeine can cause constipation and drowsiness but theobromine is safe in that regard so dark chocolate is great for those who struggle with the side effects of codeine.
Dark chocolate is better and more effective in treating coughs than other popular home remedies such as honey and lemon or even cough syrups and codeine-based drugs. According to some doctors, theobromine suppresses coughs faster and better than codeine due to its demulcent properties. The theobromine in cocoa can relieve inflammations and irritation by forming a protective coat around the nerve endings in the throat that causes you to cough. This is also the reason honey and lemon work, however, cocoa is way more effective.
The best way to treat a cough with cocoa is to slowly suck on a piece of dark chocolate or, if your cough is persistent, take cocoa-based medicine. If you’re a fan of hot chocolate you are in no luck because the cocoa has to be in your throat long enough to form the protective coat we’ve talked about and, unfortunately, drinking hot chocolate doesn’t allow that to happen.
If you do not suffer from a serious illness or disease, you can try chocolate the next time you experience coughing but keep in mind that dark chocolate won’t treat viral infections, it will only make you cough less. So you have to treat the medical problems in order to get better but you can switch from coughing medicine to dark chocolate or cocoa-based medicine. The reason dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate or another type of chocolate is that dark chocolate contains a higher percentage of cocoa. We recommend trying a simple dark chocolate not a nut-based dark chocolate or any other option that has various ingredients in it. Some ingredients can irritate your throat and you want to avoid that so keep it simple and choose a classic dark chocolate variety.