Two daily cups of hot chocolate improve blood flow to the brain

Aug 8, 2013 19:26 GMT  ·  By

A wise Internet user once said, “All I want is world peace and a chocolate bar bigger than my head.” It turns out this person, whoever he or she is, really was on to something.

A new study published in yesterday's issue of the journal Neurology shows that, although frowned upon by many dietitians, hot chocolate promotes brain health.

More precisely, evidence suggests that people who drink two daily cups of this beverage perform better in memory and thinking skills tests.

The health benefits of consuming hot chocolate are more poignant in the case of older people, Science Daily explains.

Thus, experiments carried out with the help of 60 volunteers with an average age of 73 have revealed that said beverage can significantly improve blood flow to the brain.

As part of this investigation into how chocolate affects the human brain, the researchers asked the volunteers to drink two daily cups of hot chocolate throughout an entire month.

Later, they used MRI scans to collect information on how their brains had responded to the new diet. They also asked the volunteers to complete several memory and thinking skills tests.

According to the same source, 18 of the 60 people who took part in these experiments had impaired brain flow at the beginning of the study.

After their consuming hot chocolate for 30 days in a row, the scientists recorded a 8.3% improvement in the blood flow to their working areas of the brain. Furthermore, they needed an average of 50 less seconds to complete a memory test.

The researchers suspect that, in time, these findings could help fight back disorders such as Alzheimer's.

“We're learning more about blood flow in the brain and its effect on thinking skills. As different areas of the brain need more energy to complete their tasks, they also need greater blood flow.

“This relationship, called neurovascular coupling, may play an important role in diseases such as Alzheimer's,” study author Farzaneh A. Sorond, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston and a member of the American Academy of Neurology says.