Chocolate can boost brain power
A study has found that eating chocolate and drinking tea and wine can improve a persons cognitive performance.
Researchers from Oxford University, together with colleagues in Norway, found that wine had the most recognisable effect and could improve memory, which improved participants performance on brain tests.
Of the 2,000 people aged between 70 and 74 people tested, those who had consumed all three, in modest amount, performed the best in the series of tests.
But the research shows that the benefits levelled out after half a glass of wine and four squares of chocolate.
Scientists believe it is the micronutrients called flavonoids, present in chocolate, wine and tea that bring about the cognitive improvements. Other research has in the past suggested flavonoids can also lower the risk of developing dementia.
David Smith, an Oxford University Professor, said: "The exciting thing was that people who consumed all three did even better and had least likelihood of being cognitively impaired.
"These doses could certainly help — that’s the implication of this study — but no more than the amounts described."
Copyright Press Association 2008
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