Perhaps in this torrid August it is not the time to recommend drinking a hot chocolate, but, in view of the return from vacation, here is some interesting news. For those who are advanced in years, drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day is good for you. A study published in the journal 'Neurology', published by the American Academy of Neurology, reports a test conducted on 60 people with an average age of 73, not suffering from senile dementia. Participants drank two cups of hot chocolate a day for 30 days, not taking any other form of chocolate. They were also tested for memory and other cognitive skills, as well as ultrasound scans to measure blood flow to the brain.
The findings, communicated by Fazaneh Sorond, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, reveal that 18 of 60 participants who had problems with blood supply to the brain at the start of the tests benefited from an 8,3% increase in said influx after 30 days. For those who had a regular flow, there was no improvement. The same difference between the two groups can be seen in memory tests. Those who had sub-normal footfall initially saw response times drop from 167 to 116 seconds.
According to Paul Rosenberg of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore more research is needed to prove the link between cocoa consumption, blood flow and cognitive abilities. But this study, he said, is an important first step forward.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/food/2013-08/12/content_16886926.htm
