Eating a one-time dose of cocoa with 415 mg of flavanols won’t make you better or worse at remembering visual details like shapes or colors, whether you’re just holding them in mind or actively updating them.

51

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

51

Community contributions welcome

51

Acute effects of cocoa flavanols on visual working memory: maintenance and updating

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2022 Apr

Scientists gave young adults a specific cocoa extract and tested if it helped them remember visual patterns better. It didn’t help at all—neither for simple memory nor for updating memories in their head.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Acute effects of cocoa flavanols on visual working memory: maintenance and updating

Score: 51

DOI: 10.1007/s00394-021-02767-x

Similar Assertions

Eating a one-time dose of cocoa with 415 mg of flavanols won’t make you better at remembering things you just saw, no matter how much cocoa you usually eat, your weight, or whether you’re male or female.

51

0

92%

If you're between 50 and 69 and eat a daily dose of cocoa flavanols for three months, you might get better at remembering small differences between similar things—and your brain’s memory area might get more blood flow, helping fight off some of the memory slowdown that comes with aging.

40

0

77%

Eating cocoa with flavanols might boost blood flow to a part of your brain that helps you form memories, like when you're trying to remember names or facts.

48

51

71%