The amount of sugar found in most processed foods is staggering… and since sugar is so addictive, it’s really not surprising that most people perceive healthy whole foods as lacking in taste.  Although once you wean off and detox your body & taste buds from sugar, I think you’ll start to realize that real foods are actually very tasty!

That being said, some healthy foods are much tastier than others.  And in particular there’s one that really stands out from the rest.  And that’s chocolate.  Did you know that chocolate is actually really good for you?

Recently, researchers have uncovered information that shows chocolate actually helps your brain function better!

Brain Changes After Chocolate Consumption

Researchers at Northern Arizona University used electroencephalography (EEG) to look at the changes in the brain after people ate dark chocolate.  EEG technology looks at images of the brain when a person is performing cognitive tasks, to see how brain activity is impacted by these activities.

It’s been known for years that chocolate is a vasodilator, which means it helps lower blood pressure by widening blood vessels… and that’s what they observed.  However what they didn’t know previously is that consuming dark chocolate also stimulated very specific parts of the brain which enhanced attention skills.

This research study was the first of its kind, and additional research needs to be completed to identify the exact connection between chocolate and brain health.  But the results are very promising!

It’s also important to point out that the participants in the study were eating chocolate that contained 60% cacao….not milk chocolate which is the most common type of chocolate consumed around the world.  Milk chocolate is much higher in sugar and lower in cacao…. which is probably why it’s the most popular chocolate. But if you want to improve your brain function, make sure that you’re opting for dark chocolate (60% cacao or more) and stay away from sugary milk chocolate.

Researchers also discovered that the best results came from eating dark chocolate made with 60% cacao combined with L-theanine.  This amino acid is found in green tea, and it works as a relaxant in the body.  As far as I know, there aren’t any dark chocolate with L-theanine added, on the market for us to buy… but if you’re adventurous you may want to try eating dark chocolate along with taking L-theanine supplement and see if you notice any significant difference.

Overcoming The Afternoon Slump

Now that you know that dark chocolate can help improve your attention span, you may want to experiment by eating dark chocolate around the time you start to get tired and lose focus.  I know for me it’s around 2 - 3 pm… which is when I normally go for a brisk walk to wake me up… but I may give the dark chocolate a try as well.

If you know that you start to slow down during the afternoon hours, trying eating a dark chocolate bar with 60% cacao content and see if it helps improve your focus.