Do you have a memory lapse or a big day of concentration coming up? What if the solution was right in your cake cupboard? A study in mice suggests that a specific compound found in dark chocolate and certain berries can make the brain more alert in just 60 minutes. Enough to make you want to bite into a square of cocoa without feeling guilty!
A 30% memory boost thanks to a simple bitter taste
Everything revolves around flavanols, natural antioxidants that are found in quantity in cocoa and red fruits. To understand their impact on our brains, the team of Professor Yasuyuki Fujii, from the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan, administered these compounds to rodents before a memory test.
The result is rather spectacular: one hour after taking it, the animals having consumed flavanols explored the new objects significantly more than the control group. Their reconnaissance capacity has increased by around 30%. By observing the brains of rodents, scientists noted a real boiling in areas linked to memory and motivation, accompanied by a peak of adrenaline.
When your taste buds wake up your brain
But how can a simple food act so quickly? In reality, flavanols are very poorly absorbed by our digestive system. The secret therefore does not lie in digestion, but quite simply in the taste!
“The slightly raspy and bitter sensation in the mouth would activate specific nerve receptors“, explains researcher Yasuyuki Fujii in the scientific journal Current Research in Food Science. “This sensory signal goes directly to the brain, which then releases norepinephrine, the wakefulness hormone.” he explains. This is what we call sensory nutrition: your taste buds send an immediate alert message to your hippocampus, the memory center, to put it into overdrive.
Should you devour a tablet before an exam?
No need to devour the whole chocolate bar before an interview! In this experiment, the doses given to the animals were much higher than what we usually consume. A simple square of 70% dark chocolate or a handful of blueberries will not be enough to reproduce this punch effect.
Furthermore, artificially stimulating this daily stress circuit could become counterproductive and lead to anxiety, disturbed sleep or increased blood pressure. While waiting for human trials, keep in mind that a varied diet remains the best fuel for your brain!