Cocoa Protects Against Memory Loss

Author: Joe Fowler Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

The content of flavonols in cocoa can prevent memory loss due to aging processes.

A compound in cocoa can reverse the process of memory loss with age. For the study, a team of scientists from the Taub Institute for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and Aging in the United States recruited 37 participants, aged between 50 and 69 years.

At random, participants are divided into two groups, one of which consumes a diet rich in flavonols , and the other - one that is low in flavonols . Participants consume the established diet for a period of 3 months.

Those on a flavonol-rich diet received 900 mg of cocoa flavonols per day, and participants in the other group received only 10 mg.

To track changes in the area of the brain known as the "toothed curve" that is thought to play an important role in age-related memory impairment, the experts scanned the participants before and after the study period.

Participants must also complete a test to assess memory , which is controlled by a "toothed curve" in the brain .

It turned out that participants who consumed more flavonols performed significantly better on memory tests than participants in the other group, as well as compared to the state of their memory before the start of the study.

Although flavonols are naturally found in cocoa, the researchers explain that this does not mean that huge amounts of chocolate products that can be found commercially should be consumed. They usually undergo a treatment in which the flavonols are destroyed.

Flavonols are not only found in cocoa , but also in tea leaves and in some fruits and vegetables such as pomegranate and apple.

The study data are published in Nature Neuroscience .

Cocoa Protects Against Memory Loss

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