Dear Somastayers,

 

Splendid news!

 

As of December 2025, our weekly newsletter might be the most read cacao- or chocolate-themed online periodical in the health and wellness space among adults aged 28-47 in several Australian states!

 

If you feel called to applaud us, you are very welcome to, though we cannot hear it.

For our part, we have re-doubled our commitment to sharing any wholesome, healthy, and helpful thoughts we come across during our journey through this world of chocolate. We don’t want this newsletter to be just a pretext for selling cacao; we want to educate and inspire, entertain and illuminate. If you’re reading this you’re already a customer - we don’t need to sell you on the quality of our cacao - we want our newsletter to be a way for us to say thanks.

 

With that in mind, let’s launch into four science-backed ways to keep your brain young and plucky:

 

Not only does this keep you spiritually young, excited, expressing, and expanding, but it has measurable effects on the condition of your brain. Challenging yourself by learning new things induces the brain to produce more myelin, the fatty layer that protects nerve fibres. It doesn’t matter what you learn as much as that you learn - learning a new instrument is as valuable as learning a new language or new information or a new physical skill. The world is so full that it’s impossible to run out of things to learn.

 

The flavanols in cacao boost blood flow to the brain, act as antioxidants, and improve communication between brain cells. Researchers at the University of Columbia found that 60-year-olds who drank high-flavanol cacao for a month completed memory tests at a level typical of people 20 to 30 years younger.

 

This is the most important tip for keeping a brain in shape. During sleep the brain clears the toxins that cause Alzheimer’s, consolidates memories, produces new neurons, and settles inflammation. Try reducing caffeine intake (particularly in the afternoon), turning off screens and lights before bed, spending more time outside during the day, and instituting a consistent bedtime routine.

 

4. DANCE

Any type of aerobic exercise is healthy for the brain, but learning to dance poses complex coordination problems that activate multiple brain areas and strengthen neural connections. Dancing also releases dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, which induce better brain health. Studies show that older people who dance regularly have less age-related memory decline than peers who engage in less complex physical activity.

 

So keep moving, keep grooving, keep sleeping, keep sipping, keep interested, and keep excited - your brain will thank you for it.

 

With turmeric for anti-inflammatories, walnut butter for healthy fats, and maple syrup for antioxidants,