Re:Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function
by mystikal on Saturday March 05, 2016 @10:53PM
(#11232399)
There's caffeine and sugar in it, seems reasonable, plus the pleasure of it means more endorphins. That's like three direct up-regulators of brain function.
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Re:Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function
by Gatsky on Saturday March 05, 2016 @11:23PM
(#11232464)
Well the researchers say in the article that sugar should impair cognition.
Caffeine and feeling good are confounders, as they aren't unique to chocolate. The researchers are proposing that it is some kind of special ingredient in chocolate you can't really get anywhere else easily that enhances cognitive function.
Re:Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function
by mystikal on Saturday March 05, 2016 @11:26PM
(#11232473)
Yeah, I agree that they should control for those things...
Re:Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function
by im3w1l on Saturday March 05, 2016 @11:31PM
(#11232488)
Also theobromine
Re:Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function
by TheSpiceIsLife on Sunday March 06, 2016 @03:08AM
(#11232907)
And theophylline.
From wikipedia[1]:
Theophylline is naturally found in cocoa beans. Amounts as high as 3.7 mg/g have been reported in Criollo cocoa beans.
Medical uses[edit]
The main actions of theophylline involve:
- relaxing bronchial smooth muscle - increasing heart muscle contractility and efficiency; as a positive inotropic - increasing heart rate: (positive chronotropic)[1] - increasing blood pressure - increasing renal blood flow - anti-inflammatory effects - central nervous system stimulatory effect mainly on the medullary respiratory center.
Theophylline is also a metabolite of caffeine[2].
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophylline 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#Pharmacokinetics