Comfort food: Chocolate, water reduce pain response to heat
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 18:28
in Health & Medicine
People often eat food to feel better, but researchers have found that eating chocolate or drinking water can blunt pain, reducing a rat's response to a hot stimulus. This natural form of pain relief may help animals in the wild avoid distraction while eating scarce food, but in modern humans with readily available food, the effect may contribute to overeating and obesity.