Cognitive Cocoa

This delectable drink of dark chocolate decadence is liquid brain food. Compared to the rest of the body, your brain consumes a disproportionately massive amount of energy. So, in some capacity, everything we eat is brain food. And this tasty beverage is packed with nutrients scientifically proven to benefit the brain.

Mexican hot chocolate on its own, without a lot of added sugar, is good for your brain. After a couple hours in the fridge, it becomes Mexican chilled chocolate, the perfect mixer for Lypo-Spheric^® Magnesium L-Threonate and the Ultimate Brain Supplement Shot.

Let’s get into the nutrient-packed ingredients.

Cocoa as Brain Food:

We probably don’t need to sell you on chocolate, but here it goes. Cocoa contains an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant flavonoid called epicatechin that has the rare ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. It’s highest in the least palatable forms of chocolate, of course, with milk chocolate ranking lowest on the list. Cocoa powder has the highest epictechin content with baking chocolate a second, which is why we use those forms of chocolate in this recipe.

According to the author of a 2013 literature review, “These substances display several beneficial actions on the brain. They enter the brain and induce widespread stimulation of brain perfusion. They also provoke angiogenesis, neurogenesis and changes in neuron morphology, mainly in regions involved in learning and memory. Epicatechin improves various aspects of cognition in animals and humans. Chocolate also induces positive effects on mood and is often consumed under emotional stress. In addition, flavonoids preserve cognitive abilities during ageing in rats, lower the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease and decrease the risk of stroke in humans.”

The nutrients in cocoa also support blood flow in the brain which is needed to provide oxygen and glucose to the neurons. Flavonoids also reduce neuroinflammation and protect the brain from damage caused by neurotoxins while also promoting learning and memory. And they counteract free radicals that can damage cognition.

Cinnamon for Neurons:

When we eat cinnamon, it converts to sodium benozoate, which increases chemicals in the brain that create new and protect existing neurons.

Cayenne for Neuron Triggering:

Here’s one that will blow your mind. Cayenne pepper contains no heat. It contains a chemical compound called capsaicin that sends heat warning signals to the brain that make you react like it’s hot. That same chemical has also been used to relieve pain everywhere from the head to the low back. A compelling 2012 study found that it also triggered neurons in mice.

Milk, Dairy or Almond, Does the Brain Good:

We know it “does the body good,” but the brain as well? Researchers at the University of Kansas found that older adults who reported drinking milk recently had higher glutathione levels in their brains. Who doesn’t want more of the Master Antioxidant in their brains?

For this recipe, we used whole milk fortified with Vitamin D because not everyone is lucky enough to live in sunny Las Vegas like we are at LivOn. Thus, many people are at risk for Vitamin D deficiency due to lack of sun exposure causing an inability to make their own. Recent studies show that Vitamin D protects the adult brain and preserves cognitive function in older adults. In other studies, researchers have found a deficiency leads to detrimental neurological changes.

If you’re dairy-free, worry not! You can always swap almond milk. It’s high in Vitamin E, which has been shown to improve mental performance.

Lypo-Spheric^® Magnesium L-Threonate for the Ultimate Brain Supplement:

We’ve been talking about helping the brain age well, how about the brain aging backward? A couple years ago, researchers determined brain age of 50-70 year old subjects by testing how long it took for subjects to connect labeled circles into a trail, and comparing the time to the average of people the same age. A 50-year-old with a 10% worse time was considered to have a 60-year-old brain. The average brain age of the experimental group at the beginning of the study was 69.6±4.2 years. After 6 weeks of treatment with salts from Magnesium L-Threonate, the subjects in the group Benjamin Buttoned their brains to 60.6±5.6 years.

How is this possible? Other studies have demonstrated that Magnesium L-Threonate can increase synaptic density, which contributes to our ability to learn.

Magnesium is critical for numerous processes in the brain, but it’s often difficult to get this mineral to the cranium. Magnesium L-Threonate, a salt, is the only compound proven to raise magnesium levels in the brain.

That’s not the only reason we call our Lypo-Spheric^® Magnesium L-Threonate “The Ultimate Brain Supplement.” We wrap the magnesium in liposomes made from essential phospholipids that themselves provide major brain benefits. Each packet contains 12% of the daily allowance of choline, which is needed for synthesizing neurotransmitters that enable your brain to communicate information.

How to Make Cognitive Cocoa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Vitamin D whole milk
• 1 tbsp. dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
• 2 tsp. stevia
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 packet of Lypo-Spheric^® Magnesium L-Threonate
  
  

Instructions:

1. Pour milk, dark cocoa powder, stevia, cinnamon, vanilla, and cayenne into a small stovepot.
2. Heat over medium, stirring to thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Do not allow to boil.
3. Add the baking chocolate and stir until mixed.
4. Pour 1–2 oz. into a shot glass
5. Enjoy the Cognitive Cocoa hot in a mug.
6. After the 1–2 oz. in the shot glass cool, squeeze a packet of Lypo-Spheric® Magnesium into the shot glass.
7. Throw it back like any other shot.