Episode 2 - Chocolate & Brains

The host of the podcast No BS discusses their love for biology and chocolate. They explore the correlation between chocolate and the brain, including its pleasurable effects. They also discuss the benefits of consuming chocolate, such as lower LDL cholesterol levels, improved blood flow to the brain, and lower risk of heart disease and stroke. However, they also mention some risks and precautions, including the high sugar and fat content of chocolate and its potential negative effects on bone density. They compare the nutrient content of light and dark chocolate, concluding that moderation is the best approach. Hello and welcome or welcome back to No BS, yes I'm still working on a theme song. Now you'll know I'm a serious science nerd, like a serious one, making a podcast about level series. And out of all the fields in science, I'm in love with biology, the study of life and everything in between. One of the most interesting, deceptive and well known parts of the human body is the legendary brain, and in fact is one of my most favourite parts of the human anatomy. Now as well as being known for this identifiable feature, aka being the biggest science nerd ever, I'm also known for absolutely adoring food. At school for example, I take up everyone and anyone's offer for free food. And not just any food, but specifically chocolate. Chocolate on its own, chocolate in my savory balls, chocolate in my apple crumbles, chocolate everywhere. Because, what is life without chocolate? Especially dark chocolate. But anyways, a few days ago I caught myself contemplating a thought that I have very often, so I spend at least half an hour each day thinking in the pantry. Don't ask questions. I was wondering as to what the correlation between chocolate and the brain is, including the side effects, benefits, and whether one century long myth has actually been a lie all along. So, without further to do, let's finally get into today's topic, for there's a lot to mull over. See what I did there? Today on the pod, chocolate and brains, my two favourite things. Okay, so firstly I want to figure out why I can't keep my grubby hands off of this addicting mass of cacao, butter, and sugar. For that, I turned to the National Library of Medicine to investigate and discuss their findings. To be honest, the findings concluded from the study were not surprising at all, considering that sugar content, which is key in the chocolate's quote-unquote pleasurable taste and texture, is important in determining chocolate's reinforcing potential, quote-unquote. In previous studies, it has been shown that the reinforcing properties of sugar are apparently really difficult to deny, due to many factors. One of these factors rely on the speed that the sweet taste receptors deliver information from the mouth to the brain. There are actually two specific neurons that pass this information along, exactly like Chinese listers. They're called the hemosensory and somatosensory neurons. Now, that's two words that many, if not all, would know. So, let me break it down for you. Hemosensory nerves are responsive to chemical stimuli, which is basically included in the stuff that you eat daily. Somatosensory nerves are part of a bigger system, called the somatosensory nervous system, which is responsible for detecting the different tastes and chemicals that you ingest. These nerves translate the chemical makeup of the food that you and I ingest into electrical signals that are carried up to the brain via a chain of neurons. So, how does this information relate to the reinforcement of sugar, you may ask? Well, the rate at which these signals are passed to the part of the brain responsible for producing serotonin is extremely fast, meaning that you get pleasure from the chocolate almost immediately. By immediately, I mean as soon as you think of putting that block into your gob. Alrighty, so now that we understand how our brain reacts to chocolate consumption, it's time to figure out the benefits and downsides to consuming chocolate of various cacao concentrates and differing amounts. For this, we are visiting Medical News Today, where research and studies have been used in the preparation of the overall conclusions. This website provided me with six backed-up points for consideration as to how chocolate can improve different aspects of one's life. These included, in chronological order, lower LDL cholesterol levels, also known as the bad cholesterol, improved blood flow to the brain, lower risk of heart disease, a decrease in the chance of having a stroke, benefits to fetal development, and boosts in oxygen availability during fitness. For the purpose of a shorter and sweeter summary, we are going to ignore the points that were made about fetal development, since many of my current listeners aren't pregnant. At least, I hope not. First of all, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition suggested that consuming chocolate would reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, aka LDL. In addition to this, research published in the BMJ, the British medical journal, suggested that based off of their observations, it was concluded that chocolate consumption could be linked to quote-unquote, a lower risk of cardiometabolic disorders, quote-unquote, which aids in decreasing the chance of heart disease by approximately one third. However, this is not any final evidence. More research must be done about this in order to gain more accurate results. On the other hand, scientists residing in Harvard Medical School have proposed that drinking two cups of hot chocolate per day could reduce memory decline in elders and improve blood flow to the parts of the brain that lack it. I strongly recommend you all to have a look at this article. It will be the fifth link in the transcript. Moreover, the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition presented that a small amount of dark chocolate could increase oxygen availability during physical activity. This may be because of the amount of epicatechins found in dark chocolate, which are a form of polyphenol. And yes, don't worry, I'll explain what that is too. Polyphenols are basically a category of compounds commonly found in a wide variety of fruit. Lastly, a study published in the journal Heart in 2015 suggested that eating up to 100 grams of chocolate each day may lead to a lower risk of stroke and heart disease. However, I feel obligated to add here that many of these points occur due to dark chocolate, not milk or white. Alright, so now we know the benefits of dark chocolate, but what about the negatives and even a comparison between all the different types? All of that soon, just after a snap. Okay, I'm back! Did you miss me? Most likely not. No one does. Anyways, we're heading back to our trusty medical news today, where they have very kindly provided us with a nutrient comparison and the risks and precautions for chocolate. Let's focus on the latter for now. It may sound weird, chocolate having proportions. However, they are reasonable. For example, the article noted that some studies have suggested cutting back on chocolate for those who are looking to lose weight for its super high sugar and fat content along with its caloric amounts are linked to central body fat gain. Furthermore, a somewhat frightening study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a snippet of evidence that showed that older women who consumed chocolate every day had a lower bone density and overall strength. Also, chocolate could cause poor bone structure and osteoporosis. This is a pretty confronting piece of information and might even make some double takes before picking up another piece of chocolate. That is, if you were cunning enough to grab some while listening. On that note, I'm going to introduce the similarities and the differences in both light and dark chocolate that were provided in the article per 100 grams of chocolate. In short, throughout the duration of the results, it was evident that many of what we would consider negative aspects of chocolate were higher in the light chocolate, which included sugars, sodium, iron, potassium and cholesterol. However, in saying this, there were also a few other instances where the light chocolate had the upper hand in categories such as energy, protein, carbs, fat, phosphorus and calcium. If I were you, I would go and check out this table in a transcript to analyse the results personally. To be completely honest with you, from all the evidence gathered today, it's really hard to say as to which chocolate preference is better. Though the best option is clear, moderation. I've given you the information, but now it's time for you to put it to good use, either in self-restraining measures, letting yourself go to town on that chocolate block or eliminating it from your diet altogether. You can find all the sources, the transcripts, music and more in the description of this episode. Thank you so much for checking out this podcast, and if you enjoyed it, please hit that follow button and press the little bell next to it, and drop a quick rating. Lastly, word of mouth is the best way to spread your love for a podcast, so it would be much greatly appreciated by me if you could recommend this podcast to your friends and family. Thank you so much, and I hope to see you soon. Bye!