Chocolate Each Day Makes Your Brain Younger

Scientists at Columbia University's Medical Center have just published a report that says eating or drinking a large amount of chocolate (yes, chocolate) can increase your brain's memory capability. The results were published in the journal Nature Neuroscience this past weekend. According to the study, one of the active ingredients in dark chocolate is group of antioxidants called flavanols, and flavanols given daily may give a typical 60-year-old the memory functions of a person twenty to thirty years younger.

A group of 37 volunteers from 50 to 69 years of age were split into two groups; one who drank a cocoa drink with a high dose of flavanols (900 milligrams) and the other the same drink but containing a low dose of just 10 mg.

Then the researchers did some brain imaging on all participants and measured the blood volume in a part of the brain that's age-sensitive and largely responsible for memory formation. According to Scott Small, professor of Columbia's department of neurology, the scientists found that typical 60-year-old participants who drank the high flavanol drinks had the memory of a typical 30- or 40- year old at the end of the study while the group that drank the low flavanol drinks showed no change at all.

The findings parallel those of a study at the University of Nottingham England in 2007 that reported eating chocolate helped sharpen up the mind and gave a short-term boost to cognitive skills. So, enjoy your daily dose of chocolate and you'll think you're a lot younger than you really are.