The next time your energy slumps, but you need to be sharp, a cup of hot chocolate might be just the boost you need.
That’s because flavanols, which are chemicals plentiful in dark chocolate, fight fatigue and hone mental sharpness, according to scientists at the Brain, Performance and Nutrition Center at Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK.
Researchers gave 30 people a series of math tests before and after having either a flavanol-loaded chocolate drink or a placebo beverage. On a test that required repeatedly subtracting numbers, volunteers who got the flavanol-rich drink performed better than those drinking the dummy drink. In addition, the flavanols seemed to offset the fatigue from the intense mental concentration.
“We asked them about their mental fatigue, and that increased, but the cocoa offset that increase,” said researcher Crystal Haskell.
The brain-boosting effect is tied to flavanols’ ability to dilate blood vessels, allowing more blood to reach important areas of the brain.
The study also found that a 500 mg dose of flavanols worked best. That’s the equivalent of five bars of chocolate, so researchers are trying to discover whether lower levels work as well.
“The amounts we were giving them were more than you would get from eating small amounts in diet,” said co-researcher David Kennedy, “But there is quite a bit of evidence showing that general consumption over time is protective against neurodegenerative disease and decline in cognitive function.”
Flavanols are also found in red wine, olive oil, broccoli, blueberries, tea, and onions. They’ve been linked to lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and brain function.
Editor's Note:
Help stop brain shrinkage by exercising your brain; stretch your brain with new challenges, word and number games & puzzles, and by using your memory store: like writing a book, organizing old photos with information or lecturing and teaching about history and past events within your lifetime stored in your memory bank.
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