Brightly colored fruits and vegetables get their color from flavanols, also found in tea and cocoa.
A small study, reported in Scientific Reports in Nov. 2020, suggests that flavanols increase both blood flow to the brain and oxygen uptake that increases the ability to solve problems. In fact, the results are fairly quick. In the study, people who had faster brain oxygenation after consuming high amounts of flavanols scored higher on cognitive tests and solved problems 11 percent faster. That was just two hours after consuming the flavanols.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.