AUDIO – DOUBLE WINNER –
Dec. 26, 2025 – Theobromine, an alkaloid found in dark chocolate and coffee slows cellular aging. If you enjoy dark chocolate or coffee, or both, you may be benefiting from a substance found in these products that is linked to a reduction in cellular aging. Most abundant in cocoa, theobromine is also found in coffee. But before you start eating more dark chocolate and drinking more cups of coffee, know that the study found an association, not a causal link, and that it didn’t suggest how much you would have to eat or drink to potentially derive an aging-related benefit.
Can dark chocolate really affect cellular aging?
Much of how we age is determined by our genes. But epigenetic factors such as our behaviors, environments and diets can turn some genes on or shut others off through different processes. One such mechanism is DNA methylation, the focus of the new study.
“What we were looking for here are the chemical ‘tags’ that can be added onto your DNA,” said Jordana Bell, a professor in epigenomics at King’s College London and the lead author of the study.
