According to Daily Mail, cocoa beans, or rather their component theobromine, are able to cure cough. The scientists at the U.S. National Institute of Cardiology, Pulmonology and Hematology claim that a bar of dark chocolate can be a kind of treatment since it contains enough theobromine to cure cough.
This is confirmed by the experiment, which involved about 300 people, who suffered from cough (acute or chronic). For two weeks, twice a day, they were given a food supplement with theobromine. One dose contained 1,000 mg (just about the amount contained in a bar of dark chocolate). After two weeks, 60% of the volunteers coughed significantly less. This is explained by the fact that theobromine blocks the effect of specific sensors and thus relieves cough. By the way, milk chocolate is less helpful than dark chocolate: the more milk the product contains, the lower its theobromine level is.
Meanwhile, few people realize that cough is merely a blessing while having SARS. Without cough, one would have to clear the airways in a much more difficult and unsafe way.
