- According to a small new study, drinking hot cocoa can be beneficial for your brain.
- This is because flavonols, a type of nutrient found in plants, can help increase your blood oxygen levels, which is associated with better cognitive health and performance, and improve heart and circulatory health.
- Flavonols are also found in vegetables such as tea, apples, berries, red wine, and onions, kale and hot peppers.
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A cup of warm cocoa on a cold winter day is not only a welcome treat, but can also help boost your brain power, suggests a small new stew.
Fluvanols, a type of nutrient found in cocoa, can improve blood oxygen levels in the brain and are linked to cognitive benefits, according to a small study published this week in Scientific Reports.
Researchers at the University of Birmingham and the University of Illinois at Berkeley-Champen looked at 18 healthy adult males who completed two more difficult cognitive tests. Participants were tested after taking either a high-cocoa drink in flavonols or a placebo drink of processed cocoa without flavonols.
The study found that participants who drank flavonol-rich cocoa performed significantly better on cognitive tests, completing an average of 11% faster than when they drank placebo.
Cocoa can speed up blood flow to improve mental performance
The researchers examined participants’ blood oxygen levels during the tests and allowed them to breathe high concentrations of carbon dioxide, a process that helps measure blood flow response in the brain.
They found that participants had better oxygen levels in their brains after taking flavonols. These findings suggest that flavonols may benefit cognitive ability by improving blood flow and increasing the amount of oxygen to the brain.
“Our results showed a clear benefit for participants taking a drink rich in flavonols – but only then did the task become complicated enough,” said Dr. A.S. Katarina Rendero said in a press release. Release. “We can link it to our results on improved blood oxygen oxygenation – if you are given more challenges, your brain needs to improve blood oxygen oxygen levels to handle that challenge.
Previous research supports the health benefits of flavonols
While this study is small, it is supported by existing evidence that flavonols have cognitive benefits.
A 2017 study found that flavonol-rich cocoa is linked to improvements in blood flow to the brain, which has been shown to be beneficial in memory, speed of process, attention and overall mental performance.
According to a 2013 study, coza is particularly associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.
There is also evidence that flavonol-rich foods, including cocoa and tea, are beneficial for blood flow to the body, as effective as specific diets, including lowering blood pressure.
Plant foods such as cocoa and tea are rich in many types of antioxidants, including flavonols, so more research is needed to better understand which compounds are particularly associated with which benefits.
This recent study was also limited in that it tests flavonols on healthy young men. Future research will need to examine the effects of these nutrients on different populations, including women, the elderly, and existing diseases, to see if the benefits are consistent.
It’s not just cocoa – tea, red wine, berries and apples are also rich in flavonols
Cocoa is just one example of a flavonol-rich food. Nutrients are also found in other plants, including vegetables such as tea, apples, berries and kale, onions and hot peppers.
You can also get a flavonol boost from grapes or by drinking red wine, previous studies have found.
The study’s findings then suggest that people may see the cognitive benefits of flavonols by consuming everything from tea to snacks on blueberries.
“We used cocoa in our experiment, but flavonols are extremely common in a wide range of fruits and vegetables,” Rendero said. “By better understanding the cognitive benefits of eating these food groups, as well as the broader cardiovascular benefits, we can better guide people on how to choose their diet.”
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