When Nobel Prizes were being issued this past October, Dr. Franz H. Messerli, a cardiologist at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, ventured to suggest that eating chocolate correlates with becoming a laureate.
In a note printed in the New England Journal of Medicine, Messerli observes that the flavanols in cocoa are associated with reversing cognitive deterioration that occurs with age. With this in mind, Messerli compared the number of Nobel laureates per capita with countrywide chocolate consumption.
Using a pre-compiled list of countries ranked by Nobel laureates per capita and information on each country’s yearly chocolate intake per capita drawn from chocolate trade associations, Messerli gleaned that there is, indeed, a parallel between the two.
The Swiss, with their world-renowned reputation for producing fine chocolate, ranked highest, with the most number of Nobel laureates per 10 million individuals and the highest consumption of the flavanol infused food per capita. Sweden and Denmark followed the high-ranking geniuses from Switzerland. America rated in the middle, in company with the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Belgium, as well as Germany. At the bottom of the stack? China, Japan, and Brazil.
Of course, Meserli’s conclusions are in part an entertaining diversion, as he realizes further research would have to be conducted in order to prove his claims: “Obviously,” he says, “these findings are hypothesis-generating only and will have to be tested in a prospective, randomized trial” (Source).
Nevertheless, in case Americans want to contend with the top-ranking countries that produce great contributions to society because of their consumption of chocolate, we would have to start eating great heaps of the cocoa rich candy: simply to up the number of laureates by one, the U.S. needs to intake an additional 275.6 million pounds of chocolate each year!
Think that sounds overwhelming? Don’t worry – Wockenfuss has got you covered. As a candy producer and candy shop for nearly 100 years, we have the longstanding skills to make the chocolate filled with flavanols that will fill your brain with Nobel Prize worthy ideas. Find a location near you and become a laureate.
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