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Sore throat? Forget about cough drops and honey: eat some chocolate

Big European study

The biggest European study into cough remedies ever shows that new medicines that include cocoa work better than standard cough syrups. Patients who received the chocolate-based medicines noticed improvement within two days already.

Sticky

According to professor Morice, this has to do with the structure of chocolate. It is stickier than standard cough syrups, which causes a kind of coating to form in our throat that protects the nerve endings located there. That way, you’ll be triggered to cough much less frequently.

Combination

Professor Morice believes the chocolate has “some sort of inhibitory effect on the nerve endings themselves.” That’s the reason why cocoa will even work better than honey. “Slowly sucking on a piece of chocolate may provide some relief, but I think it is the way chocolate compounds work with other ingredients … that makes it so effective.” He thinks drinking hot cocoa won’t be as effective since the cocoa isn’t in contact with the throat for long enough to do its thing.

Read more: With these 6 tips you’ll get rid of your cold within 24 hours

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Source: Daily Mail | Image: Pexels

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