Is chocolate good for your brain?

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts)
Feb 19th 2007 5:00PM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Reviews & Products, Nutrition & Supplements

Any new reason to eat chocolate is good enough for me! Prior research has found that eating certain forms of chocolate may be good for your heart. New research shows that it may be good for your brain as well and may help preserve brain function as people age.

It's the flavanols -- found in cocoa -- that get all the credit for these health-boosting benefits. In the study, women were given a cup of flavanol-rich cocoa and then asked to complete difficult mental tasks. Though their test performance did not improve after drinking the cocoa, the chocolate drink did increase the blood flow to their brains for hours afterward. Researchers think this may have implications for treating elderly patients whose brain function is declining, though they say this study was too small to make any major conclusions.

The study was funded by Mars -- a chocolate manufacturer, no surprise -- who makes the popular flavanol-rich Cocovia. Whether cocoa truly does improve brain function remains to be seen, but this study seems promising. (Or I may just be hoping for yet another reason to enjoy chocolate without the guilt!)

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Comments (27)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Jane 2-19-2007 @ 10:34PM

I kind of question that, with all the chocolate I've eaten i should be smarter.
http://www.thedessertcafe.com

SARA 2-21-2007 @ 7:57AM

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE BRAIN ON CHOCOLATE, BUT I DO KNOW MY TASTE BUDS CRAVE IT EVERY NOW AND THEN. IT KEEPS ME GOING, WHETHER SOLID OR LIQUID,
IT GIVES YOU THAT ALL OVER CHEERFUL OUTLOOK ON LIFE AS IT COMES PLUS.

Jan 2-21-2007 @ 8:06AM

I believe chocolate is good for you . We keep it in the teachers lounge. It is amazing how good it makes us feel and helps us get through the day. If stressed go for the chocolate !

Carl Tapp 2-21-2007 @ 10:20AM

WE HAVE HEARD FOR A FEW YEARS THAT CHOCOLATE IS HEALTHY FOOD BUT THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR IN IT IS NOT . MY SOLUTION IS TO USE DARK COCOA AND SWEETEN IT WITH STEVIA , WHICH IS A NATURAL PRODUCT WITH NO CALORIES , NO SUGAR AND NO SIDE EFFECTS . IT IS EVEN SAFE FOR DIABETICS . JAPAN DOES NOT ALLOW ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS BECAUSE OF THE UNDESIRABLE EFFECTS , BUT IS THE WORLD' LARGEST USER OF STEVIA .

Tal 2-21-2007 @ 8:40AM

Was convinced several years ago after reading the book I bought for my wife, "Why Women Need Chocolate",(I believe that is correct, do not remember the author but is a very good, informative book).
It is good for you,women especially, so go ahead and eat it.
Sometimes only a small amt is needed to satisfy your craving .
I especially enjoy a really good piece of chocolate(rm temp) with a nice, ice cold beer. Don't knock this til you try it. My dad is 92 and enjoys it also
Think of where some of the absolute best chocolate and beer are produced....Belgium. Long after I started to enjoy my crazy combination, I was told the residents of Belgium enjoy this combo also. If you are from Belgium,please correct me if this is not true. Does not matter to me, I'll still enjoy it, I just won't include the Belgium story.
I know its good for my heart, now good for my brain.
Maybe thats why my dad , at 92, has a sharp mind and decent heart.

joydwelle@aol.com 2-21-2007 @ 9:03AM

I work at a well known chocolate shop, alittle bit of good chocolate is more satisfying and better for you than a whole bag of less expensive cheap chocolate candy with all the artificial ingredients. We have frequent visitors who just come in for one dipped strawberry or one piece of chocolate to satisfy their cravings. Then it is back on their "Lifestyle Wagon" and I will see them next week.
All things in moderation.....

vmwood50 2-21-2007 @ 9:06AM

It must be true - I used to sell my Mom's homemade fudge for a nickle a square in the 60's at school. I know it was the chocolate that made me start thinking of good ways to make $

MAREIA 2-21-2007 @ 9:21AM

ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE I WILL PRESERVED FOREVER.....FOR I HAVE EATEN TONS OF CHOCOLATE ALL MY LIFE....EVERY KIND FROM EVERY WHERE...........AND LOTS OF IT......WHAT AN OUTLOOK.....LOL
HUMMMMMMMMM A POSITIVE THOUGHT AMONGST ALL THE BAD STUFF GOING ON TODAY.....GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

mike 2-21-2007 @ 10:01AM

I believe chocolate can be good for you (minus the large amount of sugar) Whether it be chemical or mental, or both, if it puts you in a good mood it can`t be all that bad. I just don`t like it when the study is being done by a company that makes chocolate. It seems they always have studies done by companies that will benefit from that study. We need unbias studies done by unbias groups that are not funded by a bias group. Then maybe we can have alot more credibility of the findings of a particular study

pat 2-21-2007 @ 10:31AM

my only comment on chocolate and brain activity would be, last year i was at a spiritual convention. there was a female minister who said she could heal people of food addictions. i received prayer with no real exspectation. 4 days after i left the conferrence, i realized that i had not had any chocolate, (i have ate chocolate every day of my life for as long as i can remember)

i had no taste, or craving for chocolate for about 9 months. this was unreal to me. needless to say it was the most depressing year i have ever had, i was consummed with endless thoughts of suicide, i isolated myself in a home with 2 kids and a husband. life was completely misserable. i started eating chocolate again and i feel great!!!!!!!!!

Sarah 2-21-2007 @ 10:44AM

Show me some studies that are not done by a chocolate bar company!!

Adrian 2-21-2007 @ 10:50AM

Why not just buy straight cocoa powder and sprinkle it on a lot of compatible foods? I sprinkle and stir cocoa powder in my coffee every day. For some folks doing this will bring their IQ up to that of garden tools or maybe even shirt cardboard! ;-) Adrian

Karen 2-21-2007 @ 10:52AM

I heard from a counselor that worked with addicts that chocolate breaks down in the brain similarly to the way that seratonin does. It might account for the way that people feel a little better after eating a little bit. Too much though just overloads the brain with sugar and sends a person crashing.

lyndagayle62 2-21-2007 @ 11:08AM

I'm surprised that the "other" reason has passed you by.
the Aphrodisiac effects.....if taken in the proper amounts, or for some, the IMproper amounts, because of either the combination of chemicals or the Caffeine it's supposed to have. Some researchers are saying, such as on Mercola.com, that only the DARKEST CHOCOLATE from only a few reliable places on earth, such as Swiss dark,
are "healthful". Regardless, it's too unreliable and addictive for me, having tried many times to find a balance, only to find the sensitivity and MANY undesirable side effects to it instead. (I'm fine with the occasional small box mixed with chopped nuts, or with a loving offering from a friend's candy bowl once a year, and/or a single Swiss bar of reliable brand on very rare occasions. ) I suggest that you keep your eye on your body's reaction(s) to chocolate, both immediately after consumption, then about one hour, two days, then in a week later. After that it's likely left your body. Chocoholics, like any "holic", will deny that there is ANY reaction, of course.

For me, Milk Chocolate is near deadly since I have milk sensitivies because milk is a Mucogenic causing various degrees of Sinus Congestion, depending upon the AMOUNT consumed and the fat content, etc., according to David Letterman, who clued his audience in to such valuable information. This was some of the best advice I'd received, and from such an unlikely source.

It is likely that Mars co., being one of the largest CANDY mfg., is really HURTING from the current society becoming even MORE AWARE of the evils of sugar, caffeine, calories, carbs, ADDITIVES, food coloring, etc., ALL of which Mars must have purchased large amounts of Stock or perhaps full ownership in each of these, having relied on ALL of these things for their HUGE profits, and to raise Mars to such "success" at naive society's expense, and at that, MOSTLY at GREAT and DREADFUL HEALTH RISK and expense/cost to our precious children!! Nice article, but ....no thanks, regardless.

KAT 2-21-2007 @ 11:11AM

Who cares if any studies have been done by chocolate companies or zookeepers. Just gimme the chocolate. There is absolutely NOTHING more awesome than chocolate on this planet. It is the food for the "gods" and I don't intend to miss a day without it. EVER.

rosie 2-21-2007 @ 11:15AM

Yes we women know that for a long time already how we feel when we eat this stuff once a month.
BUT i got a big problem with America the chocolate stinks
next to European stuff. Trader Joes who is owned by the Germans prooves this and many trips to Germany.
Now that is dark chocolate and cheap to boot.
Our GOOD chocolate is one bite $ 2 bucks give me a break
i bring mine back from europe thanks to my job working for a major carrier and flying overthere.

Marci 2-21-2007 @ 11:22AM

I always new that chocolate was good for you! It's a vegetable! It came from a bean so it's a vegetable, right? But, I always try to keep some chocolate at work but it's hard when everyone else in the building keeps eating it!

Anonymous 2-21-2007 @ 11:34AM

I gave up chocolate for Lent starting today.
But I ate enough of it yesterday and the day before to last me a while. :)

Anne Lindsley 2-21-2007 @ 11:51AM

Healthy Chocolate is available in the U.S., Japan, New Zealand, the Phillippines, Canada, and soon in England. It is 100% Cocoa, not heat processed, with extremely high ORAC factor. If you want to learn more about this chocolate log onto http://www.chocolatenmotion.com

Steph 2-21-2007 @ 11:57AM

Darker the chocolate the better. Its full of antioxidents as well. I am ALL for another reason to endulge my sweettooth on a daily basis.

I keep a small stash of very dark organic chcolate in my desk drawer at work. My stash seems to dwindel at times, I guess my supervisor has found out my secret.

Besides, their have been numerious studies [espcially in the last few years] casting new light on the health benefits of chocolate. Considering that medical scient is NOT backed by the chcolate industry, who cares if Mars did the research on this one; chocolate is healthy, it makes you happier [seratonian production goes up], it helps to reduce stress, and depression, the list goes on and on.