July 7th is World Chocolate Day at Frome Nursing Home

At Frome Nursing Home, the residents are called family members and like most of the UK, many have a sweet tooth. In 2012, the journal, Hypertension, said that eating dark chocolate slowed the progression of dementia, so eating dark chocolate could benefit any family members at Frome, who are living with this condition.

The Alzheimer’s Society says that one in 6 people have dementia by time they reach 80, but out of all the known treatments, chocolate must be the tastiest.

Harvard Medical School found that flavonoids in dark chocolate increased the blood flow to the brain, which resulted in a 30% increase in memory test scores.  A second study found that completing crosswords, four times a week, reduced the risk of developing dementia by an impressive 47%.

So, is this enough evidence to go out and buy a lifetime supply of chocolate, and crossword puzzles?

Possibly, but whilst the advice is to try any daily brain puzzle whilst munching a bar of dark chocolate, we’d be at risk of being criticised by the Dental Association if we didn’t mention cleaning your teeth after eating sugary foods!

3 Unusual Chocolate Facts

1/ There was once a Chocolate River – In 1971 a chocolate river was made for the film Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. It used 15,000 gallons of water mixed with chocolate & cream, but it went off, quickly and caused a terrible smell

2/ Chocolate Money – In Mayan times, cocoa beans were used as currency as they were worth more than gold.

3/ Chocolate Can Kill – It contains a powerful stimulant called theobromine which can cause heart failure, but you’d need to ingest 10kg of chocolate or 40 bars in one sitting.