2/22/16
Current Event 12
Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain?
By Peter Russell
Through many cognitive experiments and brain performance tests, researchers led by Georgie Crichton of the Sansom Institute for Health at the University of South Australia have found that chocolate appears to improve mental skills. This is welcome news for chocolate lovers because the relationship between chocolate and the various tests conducted held up. These tests included verbal memory, scanning and tracking, visual-spatial memory [which allows us to find our keys or remember the way home, for example] and more. The question researchers asked next, however, was how chocolate appears to boost brainpower. They speculate flavonols, found in plant-based foods, and which represent up to 20% of the compounds present in cocoa beans. In addition to flavonols, other psychoactive components of chocolate include caffeine and theobromine, both of which have been associated with improving alertness and mental skills, they say.
It was noted at the end of the article that eating chocolate should always be balanced against a healthy diet and lifestyle. This may seem like a no brainer or even irrelevant, but in light of these findings, many people may begin to over-consume chocolate. "Of course chocolate intake should be considered within an overall healthy eating pattern, with consideration given to total energy intake and an individual’s energy needs," Crichton says. Still, the newfound apparent link between chocolate and brain performance could give chocolate a better name and put chocolate above all other sweets.
My biggest concern with this article was that it did not identify the significance of the tests performed, rather it merely just listed which ones were done. This was good to know, but without explanations, the reader is just taking the author’s word for granted. Otherwise, I enjoyed reading the article and liked how it was short and sweet (just like chocolate!). This is important for articles to have because it keeps the reader invested. I would only suggest explaining the experiments and links between chocolate intake more.
Reference, Peter RussellWebMD Medical. "Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain?" WebMD. WebMD, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
I read Sam’s review on Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain? I thought he did a good job of explaining how the University of South Australia found that chocolate appears to improve mental skills. Through testing verbal memory, scanning and tracking, and visual spatial memory, researchers found that flavanols and other psychoactive components of chocolate helped to boost brainpower. Another aspect that he did well on was to point out that the article did not explain the significance of the test results and just listed which kinds of tests were done. Lastly, including a quote, "Of course chocolate intake should be considered within an overall healthy eating pattern, with consideration given to total energy intake and an individual’s energy needs," stated by head researcher George Crichton helped to enhance the validity of the review. This quote was also important because it reminded the reader that chocolate only benefits you if you eat chocolate in moderation and not go overboard like a lot of people tend to do.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect that I think Sam could have improved on was giving more of a summary in the first paragraph. He explained the tests they did, but he didn’t mention how the tests were performed and with how many people, etc. Secondly, he could have connected the article to society a little more. However, the review was very well written and did not have many mistakes.
This article about how chocolate has a positive effect on a person’s brainpower was very interesting. Many people view chocolate as a food to avoid because it’s unhealthy. However, if one eats chocolate in moderation, many components in the food can actually benefit one. Articles like these are necessary once in awhile because they talk about different viewpoints on “unhealthy” food.
ReplyDeleteI thought Sam’s review on “Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain?” was very interesting. I liked how he explained the details revolving around how chocolate helps your brain clearly. I think he did a good job expressing the different areas like memory, scanning and tracking, and visual-spatial memory that are affected by consuming chocolate. I also think he did a good job explaining the different components of chocolate that have been associated with improving brain function. Lastly, I think it was smart to include his concern at the end of his review. It related the topic to society today and how people need to be concerned about how much chocolate concerned.
Although Sam’s review was overall very good, there are some factors he can improve on. I would have liked to have seen more quotes in his summary paragraph; I think it would have added more authenticity to his review. I also think that he could have included how the tests were performed in his review - he mentioned all of these tests but he never described how they were performed and that would have been an important aspect to his review.
Overall, Sam did a great job and I thoroughly enjoyed reading his review. I knew that the caffeine in chocolate could give you an energy boost and consequently affect your motor skills and alertness, but I never knew that it could affect your memory as well. I think that this will be a surprise to most people because many associate chocolate with other food groups that are not good for you. However, people should be intaking chocolate in a cautious and healthy manner.
Reference, Peter RussellWebMD Medical. "Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain?" WebMD. WebMD, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20160222/can-chocolate-improve-brain
Great Job Sam! I really enjoyed your article. I think that you did a great job of explaining what the University found. I was able to understand what was going on in the testing. I think it was great how you explained how the different parts of chocolate effected the brain function. I also think that you did a good job of explaining the memory part of this. It is confusing and you did a great job of explaining it clearly. The quote that you include was a good addition.
ReplyDeleteI think the only thing that you would need to add to this review would be more data. I think that it helps see how the study affects people more. Another cool thing to add would be a photo or something that will grab the reader’s attention.
Learning about the way that chocolate can be good for you is very interesting. When I read the title I immediately wanted to read it. People have the connotation that chocolate is bad so I wanted to read more about the positive effects. Great job!!
For my current event comment I read Sam’s review of the article “Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain?.” Sam did a good job of summarizing the findings of the study by the Samson Institute, what they were testing, and why chocolate improves brain function. They found that eating chocolate improved results on verbal memory, scanning and tracking, and visual-spatial memory. What causes chocolate to improve brain function is the flavonols that are found in cocoa beans, as well as caffeine, and theobromine. He did a good job of stating that you must balance the amount of chocolate consumed, and while it can help brain function you should eat a healthy diet, and exercise frequently. The review was concise, and easy to understand.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to know what specific tests were done. Sam stated the kinds of tests that were done, but he never said what exactly the tests entailed. Also adding numerical data could have enhanced the validity of the research. It would have been nice to have more of a connection to society, and how it could affect us.
I chose this article because, like most, I enjoy chocolate and if it improves brain function that is all the more reason to eat it. I had always known that in small amounts dark chocolate was good for you, but I never knew why, and what exactly it was good for, but know I do.
This article review starts off strong with a solid fact about how chocolate improves mental skills, while offering a credible source. It was satisfying to see that there were multiple tests and trials done before this great conclusion was made; these experiments tested a wide variety of forms of memory from verbal memory to visual-spatial memory. Then Sam goes into to explaining how that chocolate seems to increase humans’ brainpower. It is through the flavonols and other psychoactive ingredients in cocoa beans are associated with improving alertness. However, in my opinion it seems like the experiments were measuring the effects of caffeine on the brain, which has already been shown to increase alertness and mental skills.
ReplyDeleteThe author decided to suggest that chocolate is not very healthy and should be incorporated into a diet in small amounts to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Sam stated that although this statement may seem obvious to some people, it was mentioned because others increased their intake of chocolate to unhealthy amounts after hearing about these findings.
Sam summarized the article and added his own opinions. I agree with Sam in that the purpose and lesson from this article was not clear. It did not suggest how these findings can positively affect society. It was rather short, but that is because the article itself was not long. When article reviews are not too wordy they are much more interesting at first glance and throughout the reading -- a reason I chose this article. I felt like Sam could have put more of his own opinions into this review instead of just summarizing the article. He also could have gone one step further and explained how flavonols actually affect our brains when separate from caffeine. I chose to read this article and review because I am a chocolate lover and am happy to find an excuse to eat more of it. This article will not shape my everyday thoughts, but when I am craving chocolate I will have a good reason to eat it: increasing brainpower.
Reference, Peter Russell WebMD Medical. "Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain?" WebMD. WebMD, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20160222/can-chocolate-improve-brain
Sam, I really enjoyed your review of the article “Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain.” A few things that stood out. One, I thought you did a great job of explaining what the University found about how consuming chocolate can improve mental skills. Two, I liked how you included a quote. This quote, “Of course chocolate intake should be considered within an overall healthy eating pattern…” shows that obviously you shouldn’t just start eating a lot of chocolate. Three, I liked how you explained thoroughly the parts of chocolate that actually improve mental skills such as the flavonols.
ReplyDeleteAlthough your review was great, there are a few things you could do to make it even better. One, you said what tests were done, but I wish you went into more depth about what exact tests were performed and how they impacted the results. Two, it would have been nice if you added how this finding could affect society and individuals.
When I saw the title of this review, I immediately wanted to read it because as most people, I enjoy eating chocolate. Most people believe that chocolate is very unhealthy for you, so it is interesting to see the counter argument and the benefits of consuming chocolate. Again, I really enjoyed your review.
ReplyDelete, Sam. "Bronxville AP Biology." : Can Eating Chocolate Improve Your Brain? Ippolito, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
William Tague
Sam I really loved your article mostly because it touches on chocolate, which is a beautiful thing. I think that you did a very good job on this article. Specifically I think that your use of a bracket to further explain information such as what visual-spatial memory was, was very intelligent. It showed that you knew what the reader needed to know to better grasp the material you were talking about. I also appreciated your quote it kept based in fact rather than just your word. Something that was well done also. You managed to put in your own opinion is a great way. You used pronouns to be more personal and let us into this cool new discovery.
I think that you could have done better on a few things however. I think that while this summary was well done it lacked a ton of substance that I may have been looking for in the article. How were the quoted tests done, how did they learn of their data? I also think that maybe putting something or hooking the audience in with a picture might have been cool rather than just the enthralling title. Overall I thought this article was very interesting and genuinely taught me stuff about not only the Cocoa bean but also about things like flavonoids which I was unaware of until now.
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ReplyDeleteIn Sam’s review, he talks about the new research that has indicated that consuming chocolate can actually help to improve brain power. Sam did a good job choosing an interesting article to review. When browsing through the different article reviews, this one’s title immediately caught my attention. Another thing he did well was summarizing the article in enough depth for the reader to understand. Although it was understandable, it was not too long because if it is, the reader may be better off just reading the article. One last thing Sam did a great job on was on his critique of the article. He provided very specific things that the article lacked.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Sam could’ve added more of his own opinion on the article because he didn’t add any of his own thoughts besides while critiquing the article’s writing. Additionally, I think Sam could’ve added a picture or chart to help the reader further believe the information from the article he read.
After reading Sam’s review, I have learned that chocolate can actually be helping to improve a consumer’s brainpower. To me personally (and probably a majority of people), this is great news because I love chocolate! After I read the article title, I knew I had to read the review in order to learn more about the topic.