Flavanols may improve blood oxygenation and cognitive performance

Researchers from Birmingham University (UK) and the University of Illinois (IL, USA) have found that people performed better in cognitive tasks after they had been given a cocoa drink rich in flavanols than after drinking a non-flavanol-enriched drink. The results of the study, published in Scientific Reports, suggest that flavanols can increase blood oxygenation levels and consequently improve cognitive performance. While flavanols have previously been demonstrated to improve cardiovascular health, their effects on the brain have not been fully investigated. “We used cocoa in our experiment, but flavanols are extremely common in a wide range of fruit and vegetables,” explained...