Sweet news for chocolate lovers in memory boost study

Sweet new scientific research suggests a compound found in chocolate could help boost memory.

The international study found older people who consumed the cocoa component had improved brain function.

In a small cohort, Columbia University found people aged between 50 and 69 who were given a high dose of cocoa flavanols, a compound found in chocolate, performed better on memory tests than those on a low dose.

Subsequent brain scans showed a link between consumption of the cocoa compound and increased activity in a part of the brain associated with memory.

“Small amounts of particularly dark chocolate, we’re talking about the 70-80 percent, may be a potential useful addition to a balanced diet,” Monash University Professor Chris Reid said.

To get a large enough dose of the cocoa compound to have any benefit would require eating or drinking around 300 grams of chocolate a day.

Dietitians don't recommend it.

Alan Barclay of the Dietitians Association said people should not interpret the study as a license to eat chocolate freely.

“Chocolate is, of course, a discretionary food to be saved for special occasions,” he said.

A confectionary company part-funded the study but the findings were independent and published in a prestigious neuroscience journal.