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Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function

#61

Post by wapapaloobop »

leoedin wrote: post #55
alexchamberlain wrote: post #43

There is a radio program in the UK called More or Less, who''s (whom's?) motto is "Correlation is not causation". Admittedly, I have neither read the paper, nor did I fully understand the section on proving the direction of influence, but I can't help but feel this research makes pretty poor use of statistics and logic, however much I wish to believe the result. Is all nutritional research this bad?

You haven't read the original paper, don't even understand the methodology they used to reach their conclusions and yet you "can't help but feel this research makes pretty poor use of statistics and logic"? It seems something is bad here, but I don't think it's the nutritional research. If you can't be bothered to actually read the paper, why do you think you're able to critique it?

Cos it doesn't work with an explanation. Science is about explaining things.

Re: Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function

#62

Post by gjm11 »

Synaesthesia wrote: post #38

Food companies distort nutrition science by funding studies. That's why we have very specific titles like "Concord grape juice, cognitive function, and driving performance," or, "Walnut ingestion in adults at risk for diabetes." Usually the results are positive. http://www.vox.com/2016/3/3/11148422/food-science-nutrition-...

True and important. But this particular study doesn't seem to be an instance of that phenomenon. So far as I can tell, no one involved was funded by the food industry, and what they did was to look broadly for connections between diet and cognitive function and this turned up.

Now, there are other problems with that sort of data-mining and determining whether they've successfully avoided them all is highly nontrivial (and I haven't tried). So this might still be bad science. But it doesn't appear to be funded-by-vested-interests bad.

Re: Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function

#64

Post by venomsnake »

wobbleblob wrote: post #42
winter_blue wrote: post #3

Just as an FYI, I found a company recently that makes chocolate with zeor sugar, that's sweetened with Stevia: https://www.cocopolo.com/ I didn't like their dark chocolate, but their milk chocolate comes pretty close to regular milk chocolate.

What is this current obsession with stevia? It has a very strong, pretty much unpalatable taste that even strong espresso can't mask.

Since "eat less" for weight control is too hard, we are on constant search for stuff we can stuff ourselves with with minimum weight gain.

Re: Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function

#66

Post by chris_wot »

elchief wrote: post #25
yxitcti wrote: post #11

I long for the day when these correlation-digging studies with absurd claims will stop. https://xkcd.com/882/

Can we just have this one? It's chocolate, man.

Sure, eat your heart out. Just try not to eat your heart out.

Re: Eating chocolate is associated with improved brain function

#70

Post by matwood »

Riesling wrote: post #58
wapapaloobop wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>otherwise it tastes horrible; try raw cacao Every luxury food or drug tastes horrible until you've learnt to enjoy it. Remember your first beer or coffee? My guess is sugar would initially taste somewhat foul ('sickly sweet') if one was brought up without it. EDIT: I'm not recommending that people start snorting or imbibing cocoa powder. However I think that if this were the only form of chocolate then one would qui…

From my personal experience, I have to agree with wapapaloobop. I put a spoon of raw cacao in my morning coffee, because I love the taste. However I drink (and eat no) sugar whatsoever and found the taste disgusting (in the sense of spitting it out) when I accidentally drank from my girlfriends coffee some time ago.

I agree with you. I enjoy straight espresso and good black coffee. If I want to 'sweeten' it I add some milk. When getting coffee at shops I have mistakenly received one of those super sweet caramel, sugar whatever they are called and almost had to spit out the sip.

I wonder if it is learned or if people who like sweets have different taste buds than those who do not. I also like really hoppy beer and bitter candy.

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