Vitamin See’s

Got a cough? Grab some chocolate! We’re only a few weeks into 2019, but this might be the best health care news of the year: A research group at the University of Hull in Yorkshire, England, has shown that chocolate can help alleviate a nagging cough. The small survey of 163 people found that patients on the chocolate-based medication reported a “significant improvement” in their symptoms within two days, compared to those on the regular cough syrup. Meanwhile, a similar study at Imperial College in London discovered that theobromine, an alkaloid in cocoa, is better at suppressing cough than codeine. Chocolate is “stickier and more viscous than standard cough medicines, so it forms a coating which protects nerve endings in the throat which trigger the urge to cough,” one of the researchers explained. The authors recommend sucking on a piece of chocolate to help alleviate cough symptoms. Pass the cacao!