From the humble cacao trees of Africa to your general stores: Why?

It was very fitting: I had just finished a Bournville 50% cacao dark chocolate and thought to myself that whether the things people say about dark chocolate and their health benefits true at all. Well here’s what I found.

Did you know that places where chocolate consumption is highest have the most Nobel Prize recipients?

It’s true, at least according to a 2012 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It might as well be a coincidence but it is possible that intelligence or other measures of high brain function are actually improved by consumption of chocolate.

A review summarizes the evidence and concludes with a resounding “maybe”.

Let’s talk about some history first, dark chocolate history goes back at least 3,000 years. Early on, dark chocolate was the only form of chocolate available. It was developed around 1900 B.C. as a beverage in what is now central and South America. Later the Mayans and the Aztecs made bitter dark chocolate beverages for ceremonial and medicinal purposes.

When it comes to preserving and improving brain function, let’s face it: we need all the help we can get. With diseases that cause dementia, such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease which have no cure even after decades of research and investments. To prevent such diseases doctors recommend simple remedies like good food, balanced diet, exercise and what not. What if the simple help or cure for these diseases would be a simple dark chocolate which we are denied to eat too much as kids.

Many studies have shown that chocolates have health benefits, especially dark chocolate. An analysis of several studies that include data on over 500,000 participants found that those who regularly eat dark chocolate (Around 90 gram servings per week) had a lower risk of developing diabetes, heart diseases and strokes. It is also very helpful for our cardiovascular health.

Now let’s get into some specific details. The polyphenols found in cocoa are called flavanols. These have especially positive effect on our blood vessels, by healing damage to the lining, relaxing the muscle and improving blood flow. Flavanols are a form of flavonoids, plant based substances that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Studies have found that cocoa flavanols also improve blood sugar metabolism and reduce the risk of developing diabetes . The authors of many such research papers have hypothesized that cocoa flavanols enhance availability of oxygen and nutrients to the blood vessels of the eye and brain.

A review published in 2017 shows that the effect of dark chocolate is different for different age groups. Different in a positive way like for young adults it was found that short term consumption of dark chocolate enhanced their memory and reaction time while for adults among 50 to 69 with a long term dark chocolate consumption found an improvement cognitive thinking and increased their memory. Well it’s not all fake I tried it for myself, it pretty much works (although it might be a Placebo effect for me but still something’s better than nothing).

Several studies demonstrated evidence of improved blood flow, oxygen levels, or nerve function as measured by imaging tests performed after consumption of dark chocolate.

Given decades of research consistently showing positive health effect of dark chocolate, we can feel good about eating them and recommending regular consumption. But note: the best and most consistent results are from dark chocolate, which can contain between 50% to 90% cocoa flavanols.

So I believe that sums up the reason for the dark chocolates to be in our general stores.

So what are you waiting for, go and add dark chocolate to your diet chart and get 10 steps closer to a Nobel Prize.