Another reason to eat chocolate

The tasty treat helps keep your brain sharp, report scientists in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition. In a study of 712 people, eating 1 oz. of chocolate boosted performance on a cognitive test by 53 percent and improved reaction time by 14 percent in just 3 hours. What’s more, when people started eating chocolate daily, 80 percent showed improvements in memory and brain processing speed after 5 days.

The study authors say cocoa is teeming with flavanols, antioxidant compounds that boost blood flow to the hippocampus—a region of the brain responsible for learning and memory. To maximize flavanol content, they recommend enjoying 1 oz. of dark chocolate daily.