Health Headlines: Chocolate Makes You Smarter. Seriously?

Chocolate makes you smarter? The flavonoids in chocolate have been tentatively linked to increased brian function. Dr. Franz H. Messerli, cardiologist and director of Clinical Hypertension with St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospital says, “There was a close significant linear correlation between chocolate consumption per capita and the number of Nobel Laureates per 10 million persons in a total of 23 countries.” We’ll take an 85 percent cacao, please. [The New England Journal of Medicine]

Pure Barre opened in Burlington and their Newbury Street location will be open soon (insider sources say next week, but don’t quote us). The barre workout has reached full frenzy status. It’s an amazing total-body workout where you’ll plié, tuck, pulse and do leg lifts until your muscles are shaking uncontrollably. Burlington location owner Jessica Grasso says that Pure Barre is different from competitors. “We make an individual connection with every client, and make each class different.” Bostonmagazine.com readers, mention you read it here and get your first class free. [Facebook.com/PureBarreBurlington]

Aesop opened on Newbury Street last week, bringing the skin, hair, and body care line to the city’s shopping mecca. The store was designed by William O’Brien Jr. who is an assistant professor of architecture at MIT. The Australian company infuses antioxidants into most of it’s products and carries everything from shampoo to acne cream.  [Aesop]

Acupuncture can improve your health according to a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine acupuncture can ease back pain, and prevent tension headaches and migraines. Researchers from Korea analyzed 31 studies on 3,013 people, and found that acupuncture therapy also led to a decrease in body weight. Is acupuncture going to give you the body of your dreams? No. But adding the therapy once-a-week could lead to better health. [Prevention]

A daily multivitamin won’t stop cardiovascular disease according to a new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School which tracked the effects of multivitamin use in over 14,000 physicians age 50 and above from 1997 until 2011. The Harvard researchers found no cardiovascular benefit for those who took a multivitamin, but did note that daily multivitamin use slightly reduced the risk of cancers in men. [LA Times]