Hot Cocoa Improves Memory and Thinking Skills For Some

I’m not a doctor but I play one on the radio -from time to time! NOT. But we do talk to them on the radio and as I consider all the must do, this would be my kind of medical chart! Medical condition - impaired blood flow to the brain

Symptoms experienced - memory issues, thinking skills dull

Prescription - drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day!

Researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts studied 60 participants, 18 of which had impaired blood flow to the brain at the start of the study. Those people had an 8.3 percent improvement in the blood flow to the working areas of the brain by the end of the study, while there was no improvement for those who started out with regular blood flow.

The people with impaired blood flow also improved their times on a test of working memory.

Half of the study participants received hot cocoa that was rich in the antioxidant flavanol, while the other half received flavanol-poor hot cocoa. There were no differences between the two groups in the results.

So what created the improvements? Let’s have another cup of hot cocoa and we’ll talk about it!