♦ High cacao containing chocolate may boost mental alertness and attention

♦ Could eating dark chocolate rival coffee for beating attention and alertness slumps ?

We often drink a strong cup of coffee to beat mental tiredness especially early morning and in the afternoon. The rival might be dark chocolate which research shows may also increase alertness and improve attention according to research sponsored by The Hershey Co.  The research was conducted by Professor Larry Stevens at the Northern Arizona University. It is the first evidence to be produced that chocolate has acute effects on the brain by improving levels of attention, reducing fatigue and  increasing mental acuity. It used electroencephalography, or EEG technology to record images of the brain and its activity whilst cognitive tasks were performed.

We used to believe chocolate wasn’t that good for us as was snacking on it but perceptions are changing as research gathers ground on the health benefits of cacao. Chocolate consumption is already known for its improvements to blood flow by widening blood vessels and lowering blood pressure over time. As well as being a vasodilator, it contains polyphenols which have antioxidant potential and stimulants such as L-theanine which appears to have an influence on enhancing mental abilities. L-theanine incidentally is also found in high concentrations in tea. This research examined mental activity in 122 subjects aged between 18 and 25 years old. They assessed blood pressure and EEG performance after eating a new 60% cacao chocolate confection, compared to five control conditions. Each participant received 1g of chocolate per kg of body weight in a non-descript package.

The participants who consumed the 60% cacao chocolate showed that their brains were more alert and attentive after consumption. Their blood pressure however also increased briefly. Most intriguing was the information coming from consumption in one of the control conditions. One product of 60% cacao chocolate with L-theanine showed an immediate drop in blood pressure.

Professor Stevens was quoted as saying that:-

“A lot of us in the afternoon get a little fuzzy and can’t pay attention, particularly students, so we could have a higher cacao contant chocolate bar and it would increase attention.”

“L-theanine is a really fascinating product that lowers blood pressure and produces what we call alpha waves in the brain that are very calm and peaceful,” Stevens said. “We thought that if chocolate acutely elevates blood pressure, and L-theanine lowers blood pressure, then maybe the L-theanine would counteract the short-term hypertensive effects of chocolate.”

Studies on chocolate continue with a number of confectioners and manufacturers investigating its health effects further. It may prompt the development of chocolate products such as bars and beverages with much higher cacao levels and L-theanine currently available.

Reference

Montopoli, M., Stevens, L., Smith, C. J., Montopoli, G., Passino, S., Brown, S., … Wu, J. (2015). The Acute Electrocortical and Blood Pressure Effects of Chocolate. NeuroRegulation, 2 (1), pp. 3–28. doi.org/10.15540/nr.2.1.3