Chocolate helps to suppress cough better than syrup, study says

Professor Alyn Morice of the University of Hull in Yorkshire says a new study shows that chocolate and other cocoa-based foods are much better at suppressing coughing than many conventional medicines. Especially dark chocolate, thanks to its properties, has the best attributes in the fight against the onset of coughing. Caugh patients who consume small amounts of chocolate show significant improvements in just a couple of days. This is not the first study that shows that chocolate can help with a cough. London researchers had previously discovered that the alkaloid theobromine in cocoa can suppress the cough better than codeine, a drug often used in cough medicine. The scientists suspect that chocolate is stickier and more viscous than cough medications. This forms a kind of coating over the nerve endings in the neck that triggers the coughing stimulus. This assumption is supported by the fact that honey and syrup have a similar effect and can also help with coughing – but not as effective as chocolate, as the study emphasizes.