A clinical trial has shown that for older adults, a diet supplemented with cocoa flavanols—natural compounds found in cocoa beans—may lead to improved cognitive performance and specifically memory. The study was published yesterday, Monday, February 15, in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports.
Researchers from Columbia University and New York University recruited 211 healthy individuals aged 50 to 75 to participate in a 12-week study. At the beginning and end of the study, participants underwent a series of cognitive tests to assess their thinking and memory. An MRI scan was conducted on a subset of participants to measure blood flow in their brains. During the experiment, participants were divided into four groups and given different levels of cocoa flavanol supplements as follows:
- A placebo group (0 mg of flavanol per day).
- A low dose group (260 mg of flavanol per day).
- A medium dose group (510 mg of flavanol per day).
- A high-dose group (770 mg of flavanol per day).
Dr. Suzanne Coles, director of research at the Alzheimer's Research Center in the UK, stated, "This small trial highlights some potential effects of flavanols found in cocoa beans over a short period, but we need to see much longer and larger studies to understand whether a diet rich in flavanol compounds can boost cognition in aging. We also do not know how significant the improvements measured in the tests used in our study are for individuals in their daily lives." She added, "While researchers found that by the end of the study, those on a high flavanol diet performed better on a learning task compared to the placebo group, they did not find a relationship between flavanol intake and improved performance on the other two cognitive tests, one of which was the primary endpoint of the study. There was no 12-week impact from flavanol supplementation on blood flow to the area of the brain previously identified by researchers for study."
She continued, "This study did not investigate dementia, and we cannot know from this study whether a diet rich in cocoa has any effect on preventing or delaying the onset of this mental condition associated with aging. The study used cocoa flavanol supplements administered to participants in capsule form, while cocoa beans used in making chocolate are not a reliable source of flavanol compounds, and this study does not indicate that consuming chocolate is beneficial for our cognitive health in any way."
