Hot chocolate lovers can rejoice, as a new study has found that there is a cognitive benefit for drinking hot chocolate. The study found that elderly people who drank two cups of hot cocoa a day saw improved blood flow to their brain and in turn, had better thinking skills.
In this particular study, the researchers gathered 60 subjects with the average age of 73 and had them either drink two cups of flavanol-rich hot chocolate for a month or not drink the beverage. All subjects were asked not to consume any chocolate-related item during the period of the study.
Wondering how exactly hot chocolate helps? The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Neurology, cite prior research that found that the brain is more active when it received oxygen and sugar. Especially in the elder -- who often are plagued with diseases that affect their blood vessels and thus, the blood flow to their brain -- the sugar can help impairments.
But if you're thinking of binge purchasing hot chocolate mix, then know that the researchers behind the study aren't ready to prescribe hot cocoa as a cognitive remedy.
"We're several steps removed from that recommendation," said Dr. Farzaneh Sorond, the lead author of the study, to Reuters. Dr. Sorond says the findings of this study can help research to focus on which exact portions of chocolate results in better thinking skills.
Previous studies have found other benefits of consuming chocolate-based products including lower blood pressure rates and fewer strokes. To see other benefits, Sorond and her colleagues looked into the benefits of chocolate rich in flavanols.
"The next step is that we need a larger sample and we need more people with impairment at baseline... (to) see if we can demonstrate the same finding in a larger group," Sorond said.
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