Drinking hot chocolate can make you smarter, study finds 

A new study has found that drinking hot chocolate can temporarily increase a person’s intelligence.

The University of Birmingham has found that when given cocoa to drink participants in the research performed cognitive tasks better than those who hadn’t been given cocoa. 

It’s worth noting though, only 18 people participated in the study and they were all men. 

But – cocoa did improve the cognitive thinking of the men! And it’s all down to the ‘flavanol’. 

‘Flavanols’ naturally occur in fruit and vegetables as well as cocoa beans and are already known for their benefits to the cardiovascular system. 

The cocoa beans in the experiment contained high levels of flavanols. The study suggests that drinking this flavanol enriched cocoa temporarily increased the blood oxygen saturation levels. And more oxygen enables a person to think more clearly! 

The research was done to help empower people to make better choices when it comes to food and drink.

Researcher, Dr Rendeiro, said: “Our results showed a clear benefit for the participants taking the flavanol-enriched drink – but only when the task became sufficiently complicated.

“We can link this with our results on improved blood oxygenation – if you’re being challenged more, your brain needs improved blood oxygen levels to manage that challenge.

“It also further suggests that flavanols might be particularly beneficial during cognitively demanding tasks.”

So while it doesn’t necessarily mean we should start chugging hot chocolate 24 hours a day, it does point out how vital vitamins and minerals are in our health and well being. 

If you do want to go all out and make the ultimate festive hot chocolate inspired charcuterie board, check out these here.