Imagine you could ask a bunch of Nobel Prize winners one question: Whatís the secret to
your intelligence?
They answer: Chocolate.
It sounds crazy but itís not as far from the truth as you might think.
Last year a study found a significant correlation between chocolate consumption per capita and
the number of Nobel laureates from various countries.
The linear correlation was surprisingly strong.
All countries fall nicely around a trend lineÖ except for Alfred Nobelís homeland Sweden,
which has far more nobel prize winners per capita given their chocolate consumption.
We'd all love to believe that chocolate can boost our intelligence...
Well, can it?
Thereís something super inside chocolateódark chocolate, not milk chocolateóand thatís
flavanol, a potent antioxidant.
So far flavanols have been shown to lower blood pressure a little by improving the function
of the inner lining of blood vessels, so itís easier for blood to flow through them.
Flavanols have also been effective in slowing down or even reversing the reduction in memory
and thinking skills that occur with aging.
In one study, elderly participants were given two cups of flavanol rich or flavanol poor
cocoa to drink every day.
Well, neither the flavanol rich or poor cocoa led to any overall effects on patientís cognitive
abilities...
Except for those who already had compromised blood flow and white matter damage to their
brains.
These people found that blood flow in their brains improved by 8% and the time it took
to complete a working memory test went down from 167 to 116 seconds.
Since chocolate only boosted blood flow to the brain and memory skills in those with
impairments, the benefits arenít quite applicable to a larger, healthy population.
But, watch this spaceóthere are still lots of studies being done looking into possible
benefits of chocolate consumptionÖ some funded by big confectionary companies.
And thereís still this correlation between chocolate consumption of a country and their
number of nobel laureates.
Of course correlation does not imply causationóit indicates that either a countryís chocolate
consumption influences the number of nobel prizes won, the number of nobel prizes won
influences a countryís chocolate consumption, or both chocolate and prizes are influenced
by a common factor.
If you are craving flavanols, chocolate isn't the only, or best, way to get themóthe amount
of flavanols in dark chocolate varies a lot depending on the type of cocoa bean, where
itís from and how itís manufactured.
Sometimes flavanols are even removed from chocolate because of their bitter taste.
Tea, grapes and apples are other rich sources of flavanols.
Chocolate is, like other things, a sometimes food.
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