UTMB’s Norbert Herzog and David Niesel wrote about how new research has shown that certain compounds in chocolate called flavonols reversed age-related memory problems. He also described how other studies have similarly revealed that high-flavonol cocoa beverages cause regional changes in the brain’s blood flow, suggesting that it could be used to treat vascular impairments within the brain. Flavonols have also been reported to reduce blood pressure and other factors that lead to cardiovascular disease, improve insulin sensitivity, modulate platelet activity thereby reducing the risk of blood clots and improve the activities of the endothelial cells that line our blood vessels.