Does chocolate make you clever?

[MichaelB]

A Nobel Prize winner with a sense of humor.

Eating more chocolate improves a nation's chances of producing Nobel Prize winners - or at least that's what a recent study appears to suggest. But how much chocolate do Nobel laureates eat, and how could any such link be explained? BBC News - Does chocolate make you clever?

An American Nobel Prize winner said

Grubbs' countryman, Eric Cornell, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001, told Reuters: "I attribute essentially all my success to the very large amount of chocolate that I consume. Personally I feel that milk chocolate makes you stupid… dark chocolate is the way to go. It's one thing if you want a medicine or chemistry Nobel Prize but if you want a physics Nobel Prize it pretty much has got to be dark chocolate."
But when More or Less contacted him to elaborate on this comment, he changed his tune.

"I deeply regret the rash remarks I made to the media. We scientists should strive to maintain objective neutrality and refrain from declaring our affiliation either with milk chocolate or with dark chocolate," he said. "Now I ask that the media kindly respect my family's privacy in this difficult time."

So, was he on to something?

 

[Midpack]

Funny stuff, here's the "proof" from the linked article...you can't argue with data!

 

[NW-Bound]

From the chart, I concluded that the reason China now has the 2nd GDP in the world and will surpass the US soon is because they consume so little chocolate.

Oops, can't explain Portugal and Greece.

 

[braumeister]

It works for snails, too.
Chocolate makes snails smarter

 

[Meadbh]

Funny stuff, here's the "proof" from the linked article...you can't argue with data!

That graph looks familiar. I think I saw it in the Schokoladenmuseum (Chocolate Museum) in Koln, Germany.

Interesting, but correlation ones not imply causation, despite what Nobel Prizewinners might tell you!

 

[ERD50]

I'd like to see that chart weighted for the % of cocoa. My preference is for the high octane stuff. 72% will do it, but I prefer 80-85%, and I keep some 99% on hand. The 99% absolutely requires a bit of coffee to sip on as it is in your mouth.

60% and below is like sugary-sweet kid's candy to me. I'll pass. And white 'chocolate' is a misnomer, there is no cocoa solids in it, just cocoa butter - might as well just whip some sugar and vanilla into butter and eat that.

-ERD50

 

[Nords]

Interesting, but correlation ones not imply causation, despite what Nobel Prizewinners might tell you!

I don't care what conclusions they reach-- I just want to lead Team Dark Chocolate in the research...

 

[REWahoo]

I don't care what conclusions they reach-- I just want to lead Team Dark Chocolate in the research...

Whadya bet you'd end up with the placebo?

 

[audreyh1]

I consume massive quantities of dark chocolate, usually with hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds coated in dark chocolate. Yummm!

Check out the Kirkland Dark Chocolate Roasted Almond Dried Cherry clusters!!!

 

[Nords]

I consume massive quantities of dark chocolate, usually with hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds coated in dark chocolate. Yummm!
Check out the Kirkland Dark Chocolate Roasted Almond Dried Cherry clusters!!!

Man, I really didn't need to know that those exist.

I thought that adding a small handful of chocolate chips to a small handful of almonds was sinful enough...

 

[MichaelB]

Man, I really didn't need to know that those exist.

I thought that adding a small handful of chocolate chips to a small handful of almonds was sinful enough...

Whole Foods Market sells chocolate dusted almonds that are out of this world.

 

[bubba]

If chocolate makes you clever, I must be the smartest person in the world.

I love those chocolate dusted almonds referred to upthread - chocolate and your protein.

 

[Dawg52]

Does choc covered pretzels count? Goes good with my meds.

 

[okapi]

Not sure.But beer can make you smarter.It made Bud Wiser.
Sorry,someone had to say it.

 

[NW-Bound]

I am not one who's crazy about chocolate.

But I will be willing to eat a lot more, if anyone shows a study linking chocolate consumption to the ability to pick good stocks.

 

[GoneFishing]

Dont know if it will make me more clever, but it sure helps with the wifey when I do something stupid.

 

[obgyn65]

Wow. These look fantastic to a chocaholic like me !

 

[Tadpole]

I'm dead. Going to Costco in a couple of days. Maybe if I don't put it on the list.

 

[Tyro]

Does chocolate make you clever?

No, but it makes me a regular guy! I avoid sugar, and the 'sugar-free' chocolate sold at our local megagrocery contains maltitol, which the label (insufficiently) warns: ".... can have a laxative effect."

Man, they aren't kidding! .... I blame it on the dog.

(Yes, I know all about the downsides/cons/hazards, etc. of maltitol )

Tyro

 

[heeyy_joe]

Only POSTING about chocolate makes one clever! Sweet!