
2. Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate has many beneficial components that help boost mood. One theory is that dark chocolate improves gut health. In your digestive tract, there are more than 100,000 trillion microorganisms that fight disease, digest food, affect mood, and so much more. Dark chocolate works as a prebiotic and restructures the digestive environment, reducing those “bad” microorganisms that have negative effects on mood.

Dark chocolate is also rich in antioxidants called flavonoids that offer benefits including lowered risk of heart disease and stroke, improved vascular blood flow, and better immunity. Antioxidants also fight free radicals that damage cells and cause cancer, decrease inflammation that worsens symptoms of chronic diseases like arthritis and autoimmune disorders, and protect the brain from degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.