Study Says Drinking Hot Cocoa May Prevent Dementia
Oh, no! Terrible news! Medical nightmare! Stop your entire life! A new study published by the American Academy of Neurology (via The Washington Times) suggests that drinking hot cocoa may improve memory in patients with impaired blood flow to the brain, which could stave off dementia.
By Sam Lansky
(In related news, a new study published by me right here suggests that drinking hot cocoa may improve deliciousness in everyone, especially near the holidays, when you're wearing a cable knit sweater by a crackling fire with your boyfriend while the snow falls delicately outside, or whatever.)
Related: A Good Excuse to Eat Chocolate
In the study, 60 people who had never been diagnosed with dementia drank two cups of hot cocoa each day for a month while taking memory and thinking tests; researchers monitored blood flow to their brains. Out of those 60 subjects, 18 had impaired neurological blood flow when the study began; blood flow improved by 8.3% by the end of the study, while their memory tests improved. Patients with normal blood flow were unaffected by drinking the hot chocolate, except in how happy it made them. (I'm assuming.)
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine's Paul Rosenberg had this to say: "More work is needed to prove a link between cocoa, blood flow problems and cognitive decline. But this is an important first step that could guide future studies."
Sounds good, bro. Meet me at Serendipity 3.
Read more at Cosmopolitan.com!
12 Surprising Weight-Loss Tricks
Sneaky Health Hazards
5 Health Issues That Hit Young Women
The Truth About Juice
