Not to brag, okay, to brag... Ever since childhood, I’ve always liked numbers. I was even involved in the Mathematics’ Trainers Guild back in the 5th grade.  Only the chosen few were, and I happen to be part of it. As a matter of fact, I even competed in math competitions during those days. Ahh… Glory days.

Even in high school and in college, I kicked butt at Math. I loved numbers almost as much as I loved writing. You had to go through reading that self-absorbed story I have about Math because it has something to do with chocolate, like always.

Now onto the real topic. A group of researchers presented a study during the annual Brighton Show at the British Psychological Society. This study demonstrates that chocolate, which contains compounds of flavanols (part of a group of chemicals called polyphenols), can make mental arithmetic easier for people.  It does this by means of increasing blood supply to the brain.

According to their research, the volunteers who were supplied with 500 mg of flavanols in their cocoa drinks were less likely to experience mental draining. Professor David Kennedy, director of the performance and nutrition research centre at Northumbria University and co-author of the study, said, "For things that are difficult to do, mentally demanding things that maybe crop up in your work, it could help.”

The study involved 30 volunteers in groups of three.  They were instructed to count backwards randomly between 800 and 999 as chosen by the computer. It was discovered that those who were given the cocoa drink first were quick and accurate with the calculations. The participants were also observed to be less tired even if they were asked to do the task over and over again within an hour.

So there you have it, if you’re not the biggest fan of numbers, all you need is a bar of chocolate, a cocoa drink or anything rich in flavanols.  Then you can get on with your life without having to dread numbers again. Okay, that’s pretty sugarcoated, but you get the picture!

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Joanna Maligaya

Staff Writer/Content Developer at Chocolate University Online

Ever since she can remember, Joanna has always considered chocolate as the ultimate food for her soul. She believes in the saying, “9 out of 10 people love chocolate, and the 10th always lies.”

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