Izabel Guest Blogs: Green Tea and Chocolate Have Cognitive Benefits

Izabel Khalili, one of Dr. T’s Health Psychology students, guest blogs again:

The research performed by Joseph Steiner and colleagues from John Hopkins University shows that green tea and cocoa may help in the prevention of neurocognitive impairments in patients with HIV. Patients with HIV have lower levels of brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), the protein which leads to  survival and growth of brain cells responsible for learning, memory and higher thinking. Fortunately, it seems that the antioxidants in green tea and cocoa cross the brain’s blood barrier, and protect the brain neurons by producing BDNF. As a result, drinking tea and eating chocolate (moderately, of course) correlated with stronger cognitive activity.