For most people, luxury chocolate is a delicious food; a sweet treat that tantalizes our taste buds serves as a form of self-care and results in a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment unmatched by any other form of food. However, years of research have indicated that chocolate’s impact on the human body extends far beyond a delicious experience. Most impressively of all, research has indicated that chocolate could actually help to make people smarter.
Chocolate and Cognitive Improvements
Chocolate may be a fairly routine part of most people’s diets, but like all food, chocolate is comprised of a range of natural chemicals and components. Most notably in terms of cognitive benefits, chocolate is rich in flavonoids.
Flavonoids are a type of antioxidant; compounds that inhibit the production of “free radicals”, which are associated with harming cell health in the human body. Chocolate, and particularly dark chocolate, includes a significant quantity of flavonoids, resulting in a health boost with every bite – and particularly when it comes to cognitive health.
- One study found that consuming chocolate comprised of 70% cacao increased gamma frequency in the brain, thus enhancing neuroplasticity (the ability for the brain to change and develop).
- Another study found that “habitual” chocolate intake resulted in enhanced performance on cognitive tests, including visual-spatial memory, abstract reasoning, working memory, and many more besides.
So what do the above studies mean for you, a lover of chocolate? Simple: your favorite food could actually be helping to boost the way your brain performs and making you smarter as a result.
The Impact of Other Ingredients
So far we have focused on chocolate alone, but there is another aspect to consider when examining the health benefits of chocolate: additional ingredients. Is it possible to take the baseline goodness of chocolate alone and further enhance the benefits for brain function?
Absolutely.
There’s good news for fans of chocolate edibles that contain premium cannabis. Chocolate containing cannabis, for example, doubles up on the health benefits due to the fact that cannabis may help to enhance cognitive function. Yes, while cannabis may have long been maligned as being bad for the brain, the reality is actually very different, and cannabis-infused chocolate could potentially increase brain power and performance over time.
It’s not just cannabis that has the potential to assist with cognitive function, either. Pistachios, an extremely popular nut often found in luxury chocolate bars, were found to produce the greatest gamma wave response in a study on how nuts can strengthen brain wave function. As a result, eating chocolate (for its antioxidants) combined with pistachios (for brainwave enhancement) could well be a fantastic way of boosting brain health and performance.
So chocolate alone is a great choice, but pistachio- or cannabis-infused chocolate is potentially an even better choice. And we have a chocolate bar just for that, our Dark Chocolate with Pistachios and Chili Pepper dreamland chocolate bar!
In Conclusion
Chocolate, and particularly luxury edibles and chocolate infused with other ingredients, can offer far more than a delightful impact on your palate; as we have seen above, eating these foods can result in enhanced cognitive function that can potentially mean that your chosen food genuinely is capable of making you smarter.