Boost your Brainpower with Chocolate

Sipping a mug of steamy hot cocoa may be feeding more than just your stomach, but more importantly your brain!

That's right, just in case you needed one more reason to keep nibbling on that chocolate bar stashed in your desk or glove compartment, recent studies are now giving us chocolate addicts more reasons to keep indulging in those dark velvety squares of pure bliss. And the best news is that this bliss keeps on blissing!

Recent studies led by metabolic professor Ian MacDonald from the University of Nottingham suggest that flavanols, a key ingredient found in certain dark chocolate, could be helpful in the dilation of blood vessels found in the brain, therefore increasing blood and oxygen flow and boosting short term mental activity, alertness, and performance.

Keeping our brains as "fit" as our bodies may sound like an unusual comparison, especially when we are talking about chocolate, but studies show that keeping your brain active with flavanols and antioxidants could be the key to preventing increasingly common modern day degenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's.

According to MacDonald, in the long term, incorporating into your diet flavanol rich foods such as certain kinds of dark chocolate, green tea, blueberries and red wine could potentially help treat vascular and cognitive health. Enhancing brain function, especially for aging people, is particularly useful for fighting off illnesses such as fatigue, insomnia, and even stroke.

But not all chocolate has the health benefits that these recent studies are showing.

Historically, according to the World Cocoa Foundation, consuming cocoa has always been a ritual linked to health and prosperity. Cocoa, coined as "food for the gods" by the ancient Mayans, was traditionally a bitter drink made from the ground cocoa beans mixed with water, black pepper, vanilla and spices. This way of preparing the cocoa retained its natural high levels of the good stuff—flavanols and antioxidants that scientist are just now rediscovering, and low in the bad stuff, such as refined sugar, trans-fats and calories.

Now the world consumes over 3 million tons of cocoa beans annually mostly in the form of Swiss Miss, M&M's and fudgy baked goods, all of which we wish and keep wishing was beneficial to our short term or long-term health. In fact, when we eat just any old thing that says "chocolate" on the front, most likely we are doing ourselves a major disservice. Consuming fake or artificially flavored chocolate by-products will only help you gain weight and buy you a trip straight to the local Jenny Craig Center.

But alas there is hope! The giant candy company Mars Inc., has been cleverly conducting its own research on the links between good health and cocoa. While its commonly known chocolate products are not high in much more than sugar, fat, and little round artificially colored men that talk to us, lovingly known as M&M's, its newest line, CocoaVia, is made in such a way that keeps the natural flavanols of chocolate intact, making this chocolate something worth eating. And eating.

This is the best medical news in ages for those of us have a family history of cognitive or cardiovascular related diseases in our family trees, and yet don't want to give up our love for chocolate.

So how do you know which chocolate bars are actually good for you?

Easy! By just keeping your eyes open for the words, "Dark," and "70%" or higher is a safe bet that you are getting the good stuff. Anything that says "Milk Chocolate," or "Chocolate Candies" without any indication of the cocoa percentage on the front of the package should be avoided.

So Willy Wonka lied to us, but here are just a few of many common chocolate companies that are taste bud and brain friendly:

• Ghirardelli's "Twilight Delight"
• Godiva "Dark Demitasse"
• Green & Black's "Dark 70%"
• Lindt "Excellence 70%"

At first purchasing the real deal seems more expensive than your normal poison of choice, but paying a little extra for your health now is going to be a lot cheaper than potentially huge medical bills later. Plus, you will find less is best when eating dark chocolate. Just one or two squares with leave your palate feeling very satisfied and your brain super charged.

So wouldn't you rather be blissed out than zoned out in your later years? Eating 2 ounces of good quality dark chocolate could be the tastiest prescription ever given for a more vibrant mind and strong heart. With more and more scientific findings coming out about the health benefits to eating chocolate, this could truly be the sweetest glimpse into the future of our health thus far!