{"id":1986,"date":"2012-10-02T12:22:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T16:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/chocolate-for-slow-learners.html"},"modified":"2016-09-19T11:54:08","modified_gmt":"2016-09-19T15:54:08","slug":"chocolate-for-slow-learners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1986","title":{"rendered":"Chocolate For Slow Learners?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Slow Learners? Let me explain. <\/span>When you think of animals that move slowly, what do you think of? The snail, right? <\/span><\/span>

<\/span><\/span> Well, <\/span><\/span>study just published in The Journal of Experimental Biology<\/i> <\/span> found that the strength and length of snail memories were improved after consumption of the epicatechin flavonoid found in chocolate.<\/span>

<\/span><\/span> Wait, so, chocolate for slugs? Slugs with memory problems? How could this possibly be relevant? It turns out that it is. <\/span><\/span>

<\/span><\/span> There is a large body of evidence showing that these healthy flavonoid elements of cocoa (not nasty, sugary, milky, caramel-y, quote, chocolate candies) have awesome cognitive benefits (see this page from PubMed<\/a>).<\/span><\/span>

<\/span> So what happened with the slugs?<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/h4>\n

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The snails were trained on a dirt simple task — to keep<\/span> their breathing holes closed when tapped. This is apparently a standard learning model, where researchers studying learning\/memory can show that slimy snails can actually learn this task, and remember it for a period of time.<\/span><\/div>\n
Bottom line? These slow learners learned faster, and kept the learning longer when they were exposed to epicatechin, which is found in chocolate, wine, and tea. <\/span>

<\/span> Again, why is this relevant? Because a very simple animal like a snail can reveal whether there is learning at the most basic, most elemental level in a biological system. We have great evidence linking chocolate with improved cognitive performance in humans. The work on lower animals can reveal the more primary mechanisms behind it. <\/span><\/div>\n
Source:<\/span><\/i>
J. Exp. Biol. 215, 3566-3576. (2012) <\/span><\/i>
‘A flavonol present in cocoa [(\u2013)epicatechin] enhances snail memory’<\/span>
Authors: Fruson, L., Dalesman, S. and Lukowiak, K.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

\"Will<\/a>\"Will<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Slow Learners? Let me explain. When you think of animals that move slowly, what do you think of? The snail, right?  Well, study just published in The Journal of Experimental Biology  found … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[43,521,267],"class_list":["post-1986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-chocolate","tag-learning","tag-memory"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-w2","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":394,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=394","url_meta":{"origin":1986,"position":0},"title":"Chocolate Chip Cookies in Crock pot","author":"Will Clower","date":"October 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This recipe is from the book we are giving out as a prize for submitting recipes! The Gourmet Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley (2003) Who would have thought you could make chocolate chip cookies in a slow cooker? Though they\u2019ll certainly look different from what you\u2019re used to, the flavor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recipes"","block_context":{"text":"Recipes","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=380"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1842,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1842","url_meta":{"origin":1986,"position":1},"title":"For Valentines Day, Chocolate and Love on The Brain","author":"Will Clower","date":"February 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Chocoholics rejoice!! There actually is a right way to love your chocolate, and it\u2019s not just about eating less of it. The key to knowing which is which and why lies inside your mind and brain. 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Normally I\u2019d just get chocolates for my wife, knowing that they\u2019re a decadent, not-so-good-for-you treat.\u00a0But lately I\u2019ve heard that there\u2019s good chocolate and bad chocolate. \u00a0Now I feel like I could actually making wrong choice!Dear Confused, As the bearer of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/valentines-day-chocolates2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2616,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2616","url_meta":{"origin":1986,"position":3},"title":"Chocolate Eating Lessons","author":"Will Clower","date":"February 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Eat the dark chocolate:As popular as milk chocolate is, it\u2019s the dark chocolate that\u2019s healthful.What gives chocolate its trove of amazing health properties is the cocoa itself. And, if you had to guess ... how many GRAINS of cocoa do you suppose there to be in standard chocolate confections, Kit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1950,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1950","url_meta":{"origin":1986,"position":4},"title":"Chocolate and “fat bloom” … it’s not what you think","author":"Will Clower","date":"April 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When you hear these two things together -- \"chocolate\" and \"fat bloom\" -- you're thinking ... oh I see, I eat chocolate and then my fat blooms.Actually, fat bloom is like sugar bloom in your chocolate. All it means is that either the fat or the sugar\u00a0crystallizes together and forms\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/ChocolateStrawberry.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1874,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1874","url_meta":{"origin":1986,"position":5},"title":"Chocolate Countdown, Number 1 Reason To Eat Chocolate That You Never Saw Coming","author":"Will Clower","date":"June 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Weight loss. 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Cocoa flavanols give snail brains a boost<\/span><\/a>

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<\/span> <\/p>\n