Dark Chocolate = Brain Power

Did you know that dark chocolate is actually good for you?

One 50 gram bar of the stuff is enough to ease stress, improve your mood and also boost your brainpower. So says the results of a recent study where volunteers were given a brain scan after being asked to eat some dark chocolate.

The scientists, from Loma Linda University in the United States, running the study says that the scans showed that dark chocolate produces changes in the brain usually associated with people entering into a meditative state as well as activity likely to improve memory.

The chocolate used in the tests was 70 percent cacao and 30 percent organic sugar cane, which is widely marketed as a health food. The benefits are thought to be derived from the high levels of antioxidants found in the chocolate, which contains more than some fruits and vegetables.

Dr Lee S Berk, a researcher in food science at Loma Linda University said: “There appear to be beneficial effects from eating 70 percent cacao dark chocolate. This is the first study to show the beneficial effects over time from dark chocolate after consuming such a small amount.”

A separate study at the same university into dark chocolate and presented at the Experimental Biology Conference found dark chocolate also boosted the human immune system, based on a white blood cell count.