You might have seen or heard something a few years ago on how dark chocolate can improve your vision because an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) claimed that it did. That seems like fantastic news for all the chocoholics with not-so-good vision everywhere, but how valid are the claims? The answer: maybe you shouldn’t cancel your vision insurance just yet.
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The Study
In 2017, the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry in San Antonio, Texas, performed a study using 30 adults (21 women and 9 men). The study tested each participant on visual acuity (how well a person can read letters that get increasingly small) and contrast sensitivity (a test that measures how well a person can distinguish between light and dark lettering). They then gave each participant either a piece of dark or milk chocolate, waited two hours, and tested their visual acuity and contrast sensitivity again.
The Results
In the randomized trial, they found that participants who ate the dark chocolate had significantly higher scores compared to the participants who ate milk chocolate.
That’s great news!
Or is it?
Even the study’s publishers agree that there needs to be additional testing to support these claims and that they are unsure how long-lasting the effects of dark chocolate are on the eyes. Additionally, when the Department of Ophthalmology at Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, conducted a similar trial a year later, they did not get the same findings. On the contrast, their results showed no improvement in either category.
So what does this mean?
That’s a tricky question to answer. The scientists were checking to see if the flavonoids in chocolate (specifically flavan-3-ol) would help with visual acuity. Flavonoids are compounds found in plants and plant-based foods (such as dark chocolate) that seem to have positive effects on the brain and body. According to the trials that scientists have already completed, the data is mixed on whether dark chocolate actually can help your vision. That said, dark chocolate does appear to have pretty strong support for helping your body in other ways.
Other Ways Dark Chocolate Helps Your Body
One of the most promising long-term health benefits of chomping on a piece of dark chocolate a day is that it can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. It does this by helping relax blood vessels throughout the body, allowing blood to pass through easier. Dark chocolate also appears to support memory and cognition, and it might even help your skin and reduce inflammation. Plus, let’s face it: eating chocolate just makes you feel better sometimes, so it’s a good thing to eat in moderation (our recommendations: eating a healthy dose in gourmet chocolate chip cookies).
What do you eat for eye health?
You probably started reading this article hoping that scientific evidence would support both your chocolate addiction and your eyes. Unfortunately, the results for chocolate and eyesight are conflicting, but on the plus side, there are some things you can eat to help your eyes (hint: they go beyond just binge-eating carrots).
Certain foods are heavy with vitamins and minerals that repeatedly show a correlation to improved eyesight. The nutrients include Vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, beta carotene, omega-3 fatty acids, and lutein. Many whole, unprocessed foods have at least a few of these nutrients, and even processed foods can have some added into the mix. If you want to increase the foods you eat with eye-healthy nutrients, consider adding these foods into your diet:
- Vitamin C: kiwi, oranges, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, grapefruit
- Vitamin A: raw red peppers, spinach, apricots, carrots, dairy products
- Vitamin E: nuts, sunflower seeds, spinach
- Zinc: shellfish, red meat, yogurt, chickpeas, milk
- Beta Carotene: carrots, apricots, sweet potatoes
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids: fatty fish, flaxseed, nuts
- Lutein: leafy greens, eggs, broccoli, kales, oranges, squash
As you can see, there are several superfoods on the list that show up under several categories. Leafy greens like kale, spinach, and lettuce offer loads of support to your eyesight and are relatively easy to hide in smoothies or as oven-baked snacks if you don’t like the taste. Other foods like oranges are easy to snack on or drink in the morning with breakfast.
When the first study came out saying that dark chocolate could help improve eyesight, chocolate-lovers everywhere were thrilled (and validated!). Unfortunately, the science is still out whether chocolate can specifically help eyesight, though several other food options can contribute to better vision. While we wholeheartedly support filling your plate with eye-friendly foods like apricots, leafy greens, and dairy products, we also enthusiastically recommend that you get cookies delivered that are laden with cocoa products. After all, even though the jury is still out on the benefits of chocolate on your eyes, it’s still worth trying, right?
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