Fuelled by Chocolate

Chocolate – the sweet treat that we all like to indulge in, some of us every once in a while and some of us a little too often. But did you know that as well as being a naughty indulgence, chocolate can also make you smarter…?

Yes, you heard it here first folks, researchers have uncovered a startling fact: People who eat chocolate at least once per week experienced improved memory and abstract thinking.

A study, published in the journal Appetite demonstrated that people who eat chocolate at least once a week saw their memory and abstract thinking improve. Examining the mean scores on cognitive tests of participants who ate chocolate less than once a week and those who ate it at least once a week, the researchers found eating chocolate was strongly linked to superior brain function.

WHAT? Well this is simply amazing news, especially for the creative team here at Pistachio HQ in Marlow, as not only do we have an office full of fully fledged chocolate lovers, but as a creative design agency, we have a lot of innovative brains to power!!

So, whether you’re a die-hard chocoholic, or just fancy a nibble every now and again, we’ve kindly listed some more amazing facts about the benefits of chocolate which are sure to have you topping up your snack draw in the office…

Feeling stressed and need to relax?

Client meetings driving you crazy? Monday morning madness left you feeling overwhelmed? Apparently, the smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which triggers relaxation.
So, don’t throw the stapler at the wall, just unwrap that fresh bar of dairy milk and take in all of those relaxing aromas!

It’s good for your heart!

Eating chocolate on a weekly basis can reduce the risk of having a stroke and can even help protect your skin from the sun. A recent study found that dark chocolate helps restore flexibility to arteries while also preventing white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels – both common causes of artery clogging. A valid reason to treat yourself to a choccy biccy around 3pm tea time!

It’s mineral rich!

Yes, it’s all about the dark chocolate again – but the dark stuff is actually packed full of beneficial minerals such as potassium, zinc and selenium – so it’s basically like eating a salad right?

It’s historical!

Who doesn’t love a bit of Nutella on their crumpets? Well Nutella was actually invented during WW2, when an Italian pastry maker mixed hazelnuts into chocolate, to extend his cocoa supply. This superb piece of ingenuity can only serve as inspiration for creative brainstorming so whenever our designers are lacking inspiration – we just crack open the Nutella, simple!

It’s big business!

Belgium, the undisputed chocolate capital of the world, produces an amazing 220,000 tons of chocolate per year and Brussels International Airport is one of the world’s largest selling points of chocolate. Worldwide, the chocolate industry employs around 40- 50 million people, so, get eating – you’re making jobs!

Also, team bonding trip to Belgium anyone?

It’s practically fruit!

Chocolate comes from a fruit tree as it’s made from a seed. Rather like the humble Pistachio (which is also a seed). So therefore, by default, should actually count as one of your five a day.

And finally…

White Chocolate isn’t technically Chocolate, as it contains no cocoa solids or cocoa liquor. But who cares, it still tastes good.

So, whether you love an 80% cocoa dark chocolate or just a classic bar of Dairy Milk, I think we can now cut ourselves a little bit of slack when indulging in our favourite treat as it can help us to stay healthy, relaxed and smarter!

However, we should also point out that it is very important that such sweet treats are eaten responsibly and in moderation – especially those of us who like the milkier variety of chocolate that comes heavily laced with some extra sugar and fat!

Want to see what we get up to when we’re super-charging our creative brains with chocolate? Check out some of our latest work here.