The dry, puckering sensation you get from dark chocolate, red wine, tea or berries could actually be activating your brain in a way similar to exercise, according to a new study.

New research from Japan suggests that flavanols — plant compounds found in these foods — may stimulate the brain not by being absorbed into the bloodstream, but by triggering a sensory response tied to their bitter taste.

“The key finding of this experiment is that it first demonstrated how flavanol intake stimulation — likely the bitter taste — is transmitted to the central nervous system, triggering a stress response reaction that enhances short-term memory and produces beneficial effects on the circulatory system,” professor Naomi Osakabe of Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan told Fox News Digital.

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“It was surprising that flavanol’s brain activity-enhancing effect occurred at a very low dose,” she added.

In experiments on mice, a single dose of flavanols increased spontaneous activity and improved performance on memory tests, according to the study, published in Current Research in Food Science.

Researchers also observed rapid activation of brain regions involved in attention, arousal and stress regulation.

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Because very little of the flavanols people consume actually enter the bloodstream, researchers believe they may instead influence the brain and heart by stimulating sensory nerves.

The researchers describe the concept as part of an emerging field known as sensory nutrition, the idea that the taste and physical sensations of food may directly regulate biological functions. This could eventually lead to new types of foods that combine appealing taste and beneficial physiological effects.

The response resembles what happens during mild exercise, which is a temporary activation of the sympathetic nervous system sometimes described as a fight-or-flight response. This type of short-term stress can sharpen focus and alertness.

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“While it is clear that healthy foods contribute to maintaining and enhancing homeostasis, the mechanisms remain largely unclear,” Osakabe said. “Notably, this study identified the potential for the taste of food components to regulate biological functions.”

The study does have limitations, as the research was conducted on animals and foods are complex mixtures of many compounds that may interact with one another. 

Larger, human studies are needed to determine whether the effects seen in mice also occur in people.

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“I do not believe people, including most doctors, are aware that a taste of a specific molecule or compound can rapidly trigger major changes in the brain,” Dr. Johnson Moon, a neurologist at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in California, previously told Fox News Digital regarding sensory nutrition.

More data is needed before foods like dark chocolate can be recommended, especially because calories, sugar and fat could outweigh the benefits, Moon said.

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Still, Osakabe noted that previous long-term human studies on cocoa flavanols have suggested cardiovascular and cognitive benefits. For now, she recommends a balanced, plant-forward diet.

“I believe consuming plant-based foods like cocoa, berries, and red wine, along with fruits and vegetables, can help maintain health,” she said.

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Major health organizations say that if adults choose to drink alcohol, they should do so in moderation — up to one drink per day for women and two for men — and emphasize that no amount of alcohol is completely risk-free.

Fox News Digital’s Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.

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Almost every forest bird species in Hawaii is spreading avian malaria, posing an increasing threat to wildlife in the popular honeymoon destination, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.

The research revealed a potential explanation for why the disease shows up almost everywhere mosquitoes are found on the Hawaiian Islands.

Scientists from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and the University of California analyzed blood samples from over 4,000 birds across 64 sites across the state, a press release revealed.

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Next, they conducted feeding trials where they allowed mosquitoes to feed on infected birds, and tracked whether those insects spread the disease at various temperatures.

The team found that both native and “introduced” species of forest birds can infect mosquitoes when the insects feed on them. Even when the birds have only small amounts of the parasites, they can carry the disease for months or years.

“Avian malaria has taken a devastating toll on Hawaii’s native forest birds, and this study shows why the disease has been so difficult to contain,” Christa M. Seidl, who conducted the research as part of her PhD at the University of California, Santa Cruz, stated in the release.

“When so many bird species can quietly sustain transmission, it narrows the options for protecting native birds and makes mosquito control not just helpful, but essential,” she added.

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In many ecosystems, a disease continues circulating even if only a handful of animal species are spreading it, but this study found that avian malaria appears to spread more broadly across many bird species.

Mosquitoes, which are not native to Hawaii, could increase the forest birds’ risk of extinction, says the National Park Service. The ʻakikiki, a Hawaiian bird native to Kauai, is now considered extinct in the wild due to the disease.

While avian malaria is from the same family of protozoa that causes malaria in humans, the bird-specific strains cannot be transmitted to people, according to the National Audubon Society.

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Even when avian malaria isn’t fatal to birds, it can shorten their telomeres, an element of DNA that influences lifespan, the above source states.

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In addition to affecting the infected birds, the altered DNA can be passed onto chicks, creating a new generation of birds with shorter lifespans.

The researchers noted a few caveats with the study. First, they primarily used lab-controlled canaries to determine transmission for different parasite levels, which may not be an exact match for every wild bird species.

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They also faced technical hurdles in measuring exactly how much malaria-carrying saliva a mosquito produces at various temperatures, though their models largely account for this, the study stated.

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Finally, as researchers can’t realistically track every mosquito bite in the wild, they used infection patterns as an indirect way to estimate insects’ feeding preferences. If a species is infected more often, that suggests mosquitoes are biting them more frequently.