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FRIDAY, April 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Compared with milk chocolate, consumption of dark chocolate is associated with higher contrast sensitivity and visual acuity within two hours, according to a study published online April 26 in JAMA Ophthalmology<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Jeff C. Rabin, O.D., Ph.D., from the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry in San Antonio, and colleagues compared the short-term effects of dark and milk chocolate consumption on visual acuity in a randomized study. Thirty participants without pathologic eye disease consumed dark and milk chocolate in separate sessions; outcomes were assessed in within-participant paired comparisons.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that small-letter contrast sensitivity was significantly higher after consumption of dark versus milk chocolate (mean improvement, 0.15 logCS; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.08 to 0.22 logCS; P < 0.001). Slightly higher large-letter contrast sensitivity was seen after dark versus milk chocolate consumption (mean improvement, 0.05 logCS; 95 percent confidence interval, 0 to 0.1 logCS; P = 0.07). Visual acuity improved slightly more after consumption of dark versus milk chocolate (mean improvement, 0.04 logMAR; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.02 to 0.06 logMAR; P = 0.05). In composite scores combining results from all tests, there was significant improvement after consumption of dark versus milk chocolate (mean improvement, 0.2 log U; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.1 to 0.3 log U; P < 0.001).<\/p>\n
“The duration of these effects and their influence in real-world performance await further testing,” the authors write.<\/p>\n