Daily dark chocolate keeps the brain fit
It sounds too good to be true: eating chocolate can do something Good health. An Italian research team is now in a study the positive effects of dark chocolate on the brain health. Responsible for the effect of the contained cocoa should be the flavanols that increase the blood volume in the brain and it is so powerful.
A research team at the University of L’aquila in Italy studied the influence of dark chocolate on the brain. The researchers, an improvement of working memory performance and processing of visual information by the chocolate consumption were able to determine. Older persons who ate regularly a little bit of dark chocolate could improve your attention, processing speed, and the flow of speech. The results of the study were published in the journal “Frontiers in Nutrrition”.
Dark chocolate is a wonder drug for the brain?
The results of the study showed several positive effects of chocolate consumption. The Participants experienced improvements in cognitive Performance. In addition, eating dark chocolate is counteracted in the case of women also the effects of sleep deprivation. In young and healthy adults, the positive effects were, however, only in the case of more demanding cognitive Tests noticeable.
Increase in performance in old age even more
In the elderly found that cognitive performance was improved after the daily intake of dark chocolate. Factors such as attention, processing speed, working memory, and fluency were significantly influenced. Most of the improvements in the people who already showed mild cognitive weaknesses prior to the regular intake.
Why is dark chocolate good for the brain performance?
According to the study, the so-called cocoa flavanols in dark chocolate for the positive effect of responsible. These flavanols have a positive impact on cardiovascular health and may increase the cerebral blood volume in the Hippocampus. This brain region will be pulled through the aging process hit particularly hard and is a potential source for age-related memory loss, and restrictions in cognitive capacity.
Cocoa flavanols to protect against age-related memory weakness
“Our result indicates the potential of cocoa flavanols to protect mental performance in vulnerable population groups, and to improve,” say the study’s authors Valentina Socci and Michele Ferrara of the University of L’Aquila. A regular intake of cocoa and chocolate can indeed have a positive impact on brain performance.
Caution: be Aware of enjoy!
“However, there are potential side effects with the consumption of cocoa and chocolate”, the researchers to bear in mind. These generally relate to the caloric value of chocolate, as well as with some of the additives that are contained in chocolate, such as sugar, dairy, caffeine and theobromine. Therefore, regular consumption should always be done consciously and in small quantities.
For more health benefits of dark chocolate
- Dark chocolate counteracts high blood pressure
- Dark chocolate increases our vision
- Dark chocolate is effective against Stress and inflammation
The cognitive skills and memory performance, however, there are also other ways to improve. Learn more here: tips to improve memory power(vb)