巧克力可增强脑功能?

A new US study hints that eating milk chocolate may boost brain function.

"Chocolate contains many substances that act as stimulants, such as theobromine, phenethylamine, and caffeine," Dr Bryan Raudenbush, from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia, said in comments to Reuters Health.

"These substances by themselves have previously been found to increase alertness and attention and what we have found is that by consuming chocolate you can get the stimulating effects, which then lead to increased mental performance."

To study the effects of various chocolate types on brain power, Dr Raudenbush and colleagues had a group of volunteers consume, on four separate occasions, 85 grams of milk chocolate; 85 grams of dark chocolate; 85 grams of carob; and nothing (the control condition).

After a 15-minute digestive period, participants completed a variety of computer-based neuropsychological tests designed to assess cognitive performance including memory, attention span, reaction time and problem solving.

"Composite scores for verbal and visual memory were significantly higher for milk chocolate than the other conditions," Dr Raudenbush said.

And consumption of milk and dark chocolate was associated with improved impulse control and reaction time.

Previous research has shown that some nutrients in food aid in glucose release and increased blood flow, which may augment cognitive performance.

Dr Raudenbush said the current findings "provide support for nutrient release via chocolate consumption to enhance cognitive performance".美国一项新的研究表明吃牛奶巧克力能健脑。

“巧克力包含了许多刺激性的物质，诸如可可碱，苯乙胺和咖啡因。”来自西弗吉尼亚Wheeling Jesuit大学的Bryan Raudenbush博士在路透社健康版的评论中说。

这些物质本身曾被发现能增加机敏性和注意力，我们也发现吃巧克力可以得到刺激性的效果从而提神。

为了研究不同种类巧克力对脑力的影响力，Raudenbush博士和同事们拥有一个吃巧克力的志愿者队伍，分为四组，一组吃85克牛奶巧克力，一组吃85克黑巧克力，一组是85克长豆角，还有一组什么也不吃（控制状态）

15分钟的消化过程后，参与者们在计算机上完成了多种神经心理测试，目的是评估包括记忆，注意力，反应时间问题解决能力的认知能力。

“在口语和视觉记忆的综合评价上牛奶巧克力显得尤为突出。”Raudenbush博士说。

牛奶巧克力和黑巧克力的消化可同时提高自制力和反应力。

在此之前的研究已经揭示了食品中的一些营养物质辅助葡萄糖的分解和增加血液流量，也就是他们能提高认知能力。

Raudenbush博士道出了最近的发现“通过巧克力的消化来辅助分解营养以增强认知能力”。