And even if you're very health and fitness-conscious, it's hard to simply do away with all the

yummy goodness.

For some of us, the problem lies with the insatiable addiction to chocolate.

But, what if our joy of chocolate can be a good thing?

Heck, what if it can help you build muscle?

Well, that's the case being made about dark chocolate.

The belief is that dark chocolate can increase muscle growth because it contains the flavanol

epicatechin.

Epicatechin has been hypothesized to invoke two significant muscle-building properties:

decreasing myostatin, and increasing follistatin.

A 2014 study seeking potential methods to diminish the effects of sarcopenia, the process

in which we lose muscle mass due to aging, tested exactly for this.

With roughly 150 milligrams of epicatechin supplementation per day, the 6 middle-aged

subjects saw a 16.6% myostatin decrease and a 49.2% follistatin increase.

So why is all of this important?

Myostatin is a regulating protein that alters the rate of muscle growth, creating a genetic

muscle ceiling.

The more myostatin present, the lower the amount of muscle you can build.

As seen in other animals, the lack of myostatin can invoke unnatural amounts of muscle.

The protein follistatin, has an antagonist effect to myostatin, diminishing myostatin's

muscle limiting effect.

Fittingly, if your goal is to build muscle, you want myostatin reduced, but not to the

point of completely removing it.

And as showcased, this is a very likely scenario with epicatechin and the necessary amount

can be obtained through dark chocolate.

However… the amount you have to eat is relatively high.

Now, all dark chocolates are not created equal.

The ones with the highest epicatechin content are the ones with the highest cocoa purity.

You will need 100 grams of 50% cocoa dark chocolate to reach the 150 milligrams of epicatetchin

used in the study.

However, you will only need 60 grams of 85% cocoa dark chocolate to reach the same amount.

Do the math and that's roughly 350 to 600 calories from nothing but chocolate… per

day.

For some, that's not a problem.

For others, especially those with weight restricted goals, it will be quite difficult to reach

this amount.

And whether consuming smaller amounts will still yield any growth benefits remain to

be seen.

On top of that, it's not entirely certain that even high amounts of epicatechin can

ensure greater muscle growth, but the research does look promising.

Either way, the epicatechin benefits don't stop there.

It can potentially increase testosterone, increase ghrelin, which suppresses appetite,

and increase nitric oxide, which can improve blood flow to the muscles.

Time will only tell how effective epicatechin and dark chocolate can be.

For now, if you're already enjoying a decent dose of your favorite dark chocolate, you

can have some peace of mind knowing your sweets can potentially improve your gains.

What's your thoughts on dark chocolate gains?

Believe the hype?

Share your thoughts below.

Check out some new PictureFit tees while you're at it.

And as always, thanks for watching!