Dark Chocolate Affirmed as Brain-Booster
Official French evidence review concludes that dark, antioxidant-rich chocolate or cocoa can protect or improve brain function and mood
by Craig Weatherby
Headlines touting the health benefits of raw cocoa – and extra-dark chocolate bars made from it – aren’t just hype.
While limited, the clinical evidence for dark chocolate’s artery-health and blood-flow benefits is almost entirely positive … and its plausibility is supported by bountiful lab evidence.
Earlier this month, the famously hard-nosed European Food Safety Authority approved this health claim for extra-dark (80% cocoa) chocolate: “cocoa flavanols help maintain endothelium-dependent vasodilation which contributes to normal blood flow.”
The EFSA’s approval was based on evidence that daily intake of 200mg of cocoa flavanols – which include epicatechins and procyanidins – promotes optimal blood circulation.
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The uncommon “antioxidants”
in raw cocoa and dark chocolate
There’s ample evidence that diets rich in berries or other foods rich in polyphenols help deter the oxidative cell damage and inflammation caused by free radicals.
It’s becoming clear that polyphenols generally do not exert direct antioxidant effects in the body… at least not to a very substantial extent.
Instead, polyphenols appear to reduce oxidation and inflammation via so-called “nutrigenomic” effects on gene switches (e.g. transcription factors) in our cells.
Polyphenols’ nutrigenomic effects tend to moderate inflammation and stimulate the body’s own antioxidant network … which includes enzymes, lipoic acid, CoQ10, melatonin, and vitamins C and E.
In terms of their amounts of polyphenols per ounce, the richest food sources of polyphenols include raw (non-alkalized / non-“Dutched”) cocoa, spices, herbs, berries, plums, prunes, tea, coffee, extra virgin olive oil, onions, beans, and whole grains.
The antioxidants in cocoa are called flavanols … a relatively rare group of polyphenols whose only members are the compounds called catechins and procyanidins.
Catechins only occur abundantly in raw cocoa, dark chocolate, and green or white tea – with much smaller concentrations in other plant foods – while procyanidins abound in berries.
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This amount of cocoa flavanols can be gotten from 2.5 grams (about one-tenth ounce) of “raw,” non-Dutched cocoa powder or 10 grams (about one-third ounce) of 80% extra-dark chocolate.
(Most cocoa brands treat their cocoa with alkali – the process known as “Dutching” – which destroys some 90 percent of its healthful flavanols.)
Some chocolate is made with Dutched, low-flavanol cocoa, while some brands – including Vital Choice – use non-Dutched, high-flavanol cocoa.
More recently, clinical research has linked cocoa’s flavanols to enhanced brain health.
And those indications have just been affirmed in an evidence review from the French Medical Research Institute (INSERM) … which is that nation’s counterpart to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
French evidence review sees evidence of chocolate’s brain benefits
The evidence review was authored by functional neurochemist Astrid Nehlig, Ph.D., of INSERM.
She analyzed the many studies submitted to the European Food Safety Authority and found the evidence in them sufficient to support the idea that cocoa flavanols boost basic thinking functions.
As Dr. Nehlig wrote, “Cocoa powder and chocolate contain a large percentage of flavonoids that display several beneficial actions on the brain.” (Nehlig A 2012)
She noted evidence that cocoa flavanols keep brain cells alive by enhancing the supply of blood to capillaries in the brain, and help create new blood vessels.
Specifically, Dr. Nehlig concluded that epicatechin – the main flavanol in cocoa, which also occurs in green and white tea – was the major reason for these benefits.
She hypothesized that regular consumption of flavanol-rich chocolate or cocoa might reduce stroke risk and help prevent or delay age-related cognitive decline and dementia.
As Dr. Nehlig put it, “… [cocoa] flavonoids preserve cognitive abilities during aging in rats, [and] lower the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and … stroke in humans.” (Nehlig A 2012)
Finally, she observed that “Chocolate also induces positive effects on mood … in part because eating it stimulates the release of endorphins.” (Nehlig A 2012)
Choose your cocoa and chocolate carefully
The epicatechin content of chocolate rests largely on two factors: use of non-Dutched cocoa and moderate roasting temperatures.
The cocoa butter (cocoa fat) used to make chocolate is high in saturated fat, but it’s of a type (stearic acid) that does not harm heart health. And extra-dark chocolate is relatively low in sugar compared with milkier, low-cocoa bars.
Dr. Nehlig concluded that the evidence is clear on one key point: “On the basis of the present knowledge, it appears that the benefits from moderate cocoa or chocolate consumption likely outweigh the possible risks.”
