Present at every moment and every stage of our lives, chocolate represents our guilty little pleasure. A guilt to be hunted, since, apart from our tiredness and our desires to nibble, there is a vital reason which encourages its consumption: the protection of our brain.
According to scientists at the University of Aquila in Italy, regular chocolate consumption is good for our brain. Indeed, the cocoa it contains has the ability to improve the brain’s memory capacities and allows it to be more responsive. Chocolate is particularly beneficial for women because it reduces their memory problems and allows them to be more responsive than men when they lack sleep. However, we are not talking about just any chocolate, but chocolate that is essentially made of cocoa.
Indeed, cocoa contains natural molecules that are able to preserve neurons and do a lot of good to the brain. These are flavanols found in cocoa beans, but also in green tea leaves and grape seeds. So quit feeling guilty about eating chocolate because it helps protect your brain. When it contains a high amount of cocoa, chocolate also allows us to improve the processing of visual information and to have a more fluid language. Favor dark chocolate in which the cocoa content and therefore flavanols is flagrant. But chocolate bread doesn’t work and may increase your weight instead of protecting your brain. Finally a good reason not to deprive yourself of chocolate!