Cocoa Flavanols Improve Functioning Of Eyes And Brain – Study

A study by researchers in the U.K. has found that cocoa flavanols have a positive impact on some characteristics of eye and brain functions. Intake of cocoa flavanols improved performance on vision tests in young adults while boosting some areas of cognitive performance. For example, cocoa flavanols increased visual contrast sensitivity and reduced the time required to detect motion direction. “In terms of cognitive performance, CF improved spatial memory and performance on some aspects of the choice reaction time task,” researchers said. The study involved 30 young adults (18-25 years old) who consumed high and low levels of dark chocolate and, a week later, the same amounts of white chocolate as a control. The participants were then tested on visual contrast sensitivity, on motion sensitivity, and on cognitive performance.