Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows an association between the average amount of chocolate each person in country eats, and the number of Nobel Prize winners that country produces. But as the author points out, an association doesn't necessarily mean that eating chocolate makes you smart.
And this is where risk comes in - it's easy to believe that an association between a substance and a disease means that the one causes the other. But without more information, it's all too easy to have a "Nobel-Chocolate" moment.
For more information, please visit http://riskbites.org/?p=150
Source:
Messerli F H (2012) Chocolate Consumption, Cognitive Function,
and Nobel Laureates. N Engl J Med 367;16
The original New England Journal of Medicine paper is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMon1211064 - although unfortunately it's behind a paywall.
You can read more about the science behind chocolate and health at http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2012/10/19/for-the-love-of-chocolate/
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