Everyone loves chocolate. That’s a fact. The Aztecs believed that cocoa seeds were gifts from the god of wisdom, Quetzalcoatl, to men. When it arrived in Europe in the 16th century, cocoa beans became an instant sensation among the upper classes. Even the cocoa tree was bestowed the name theobroma cacao. In Latin, theo means god and brosi means food – thus “food of the gods”.
No matter where it travelled, chocolate is just considered godly.
Today, we know the reasons why we love chocolate. It helps release “happy” neurotransmitters in our brain, mimicking the same feelings that we experience in euphoria.
But aside from making us happy, did you know that chocolate can keep you young, protect your brain from neurological diseases and make you smarter?
Yep, chocolate is even godlier than we thought.
The effects of free radical damage
Free radicals have long been associated with chronic diseases, like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately, for all the damages that they do, it’s virtually impossible to avoid free radicals in our everyday life. Many things in our environment are free radicals that can damage our body: cigarette smoke, alcohol, pesticides, air pollutants… and oxygen.
Chemically speaking, free radicals are groups of atoms, ions or molecules with impaired number of electrons looking for other molecules to pair up the odd-one out, or to leave a singled electron behind. Free radicals aren’t picky about where they’re stealing from, either. Whether it’s a fat molecule, protein, even our DNA cell, they leave damage (imbalance) behind as they backpack through our bodies.
In terms of oxygen, this process occurs naturally from our own interaction with it for survival, and will invariably cause alternations in our molecules and leave damage behind. It is considered a normal cycle of life for our organism. This process is called oxidization, and when the oxidization piles up in our body, leaving more damage than our system can repair itself, our cells are begin to suffer oxidative stress.
Wrinkles, age spots are all visible signs of oxidative stress from free radical damage; or if you’ve ever seen a slice of apple turning brown or a piece of metal that rusted over time, then you’ve witnessed free radicals at work. For more information on free radicals, see here.
Of all the organs in the human body, our brain is the one that relies most on oxygen to function. Roughly 20% of our total oxygen consumption goes to our head, so it is also the organ that is most particularly prone to oxygen-induced damage. Several parts of our brain are also found to be particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress – parts of the brain that are the first to go in dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.
And this is where antioxidants come in.
The power of antioxidants – and what chocolate has to do with it
Antioxidants are chemical compounds with the ability to neutralize free radicals and provide balance to keep your cells from damage. When free radicals are foraging through your body and leaving molecular imbalance behind, antioxidants stops the damage by donating or accepting an electron from our molecules and maintaining them stable.
Though our bodies are naturally equipped to deal with free radical damage, because we naturally produce some antioxidants ourselves, like glutathione , ubiquinol , and uric acid, we are still vulnerable to oxidative stress over time, when the damage is going faster than our body can repair. This is why we need to gather antioxidants from our foods, to help us fight off free radical damage.
Usually, antioxidants are found mostly in fruits and vegetables. Luckily, if you are a fan of chocolate, you’ll be happy to know that cocoa actually contains significantly more antioxidants than some of the known antioxidant fruits, like acai, blueberries, cranberries or pomegranate.
One of the powerful antioxidants that come in your pack of dark chocolate are different types of flavonoids, a class of molecules that act not only as superheroes that save you from free radical damage, but can also help you become smarter.
Be smart and eat flavonoids. I mean, chocolates.
Back in 2011, a study published by the Institute for Cognitive Science in the Seoul National University show that an increased cerebral blood flow had a positive impact on children’s intellectual development and overall IQ.
Flavonoids, the chemical compounds that are found in great abundance in dark chocolates, have also been found to increase blood flow in our brains, promotes the growth and development of new neurons in specific parts of hippocampus.
Hippocampus is the part of your brain that is responsible for translating short-term memories into long-term memories, it is also your spatial memory hub – the kind that you need for navigation. Without it, you will not be able to remember anything you’ve learned. You’ll also have a hard time recalling your friends’ names, your address; you may even lose the ability to go home after a day out. Definitely something you’ll want to keep healthy.
Good news is, flavonoids have been shown to be extremely efficient in improving our learning abilities by increasing the cerebral blood flow and the number of new growth several areas of hippocampus. In a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers have found that people perform better in learning, concentration and reaction tests when they consumed flavonoid-rich foods, like dark chocolate.
Flavonols, another class of flavonoids, are found to enhance plasticity in your brain – a trait that is associated with learning, increased intelligence, and greatly reduces the risks of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
In a published study, Dr. Jeremy Spencer from the University of Reading says that you will find it easier to learn, focus and remember things that you have learned within 2 hours of having eaten dark chocolate.
So go ahead, when you are cramming for an exam or heading into an important meeting, grab a handful of chocolates and chow away, indulge yourself.
How to buy the right kind of chocolate
Compared to milk chocolate, dark chocolate contains considerably more of the components that are good for you. If you are more of a fan of milk chocolate, then you are likely to be eating more sugar than anything else.
When you are going through the grocery shelves, the percentage indicated on the packaging of a chocolate bar indicates the total percentage of everything that is made from the cocoa bean.
Generally speaking, 70% dark chocolate is a good indicator to go for if you want genuine, brain-boosting effects that cocoa beans provide.
If dark chocolate really isn’t your cup of hot cocoa, you can start out from 50% and work your way up. Alternatively, you can try adding honey, or sweeteners like xylitol and sukrin, which are both naturally occurring sweeteners that protect you from tooth decay (xylitol) and are zero calorie.
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