Adding dark chocolate to a bad diet can be good for memory
Black tea, apples, berries and even a bit of dark chocolate could help to keep your mind sharp.
Black tea, apples, berries and even a bit of dark chocolate could help to keep your mind sharp, according to a study into the effects of flavanols on cognition.
Flavanols are compounds found in a range of foods, including some fruits, vegetables, cocoa and tea. In previous studies there have been suggestions they might aid memory in older people, but there have not been many systematic trials to properly test the idea.
The latest work randomly assigned 3,500 older people to receive flavanol supplements over the course of three years, while giving them cognitive tests.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that, for most people, the supplements made little difference. However, there was one group for which this appeared not to be the case: those who went into the trial with the worst diet, or the lowest levels of flavanols already in their system.
After receiving a supplement, their performance in memory tests improved by about 10 per cent compared with those given a placebo. Although some other researchers were sceptical about the strength of the finding, the scientists behind the study said that this implied the flavanols could be a “nutrient for the ageing brain” - required at a certain level for normal functioning.
“That indicates that we have here a compound that might play a crucial role in health,” Professor Scott Small, from Columbia University, said. “Not consuming enough of it is likely to have an adverse effect on memory.”
The study was possible because of a urine test developed at Reading University, which was used by just over a third of those involved. This gave researchers a more effective way to assess flavanol levels of this group going into the trial - and explore the effectiveness of flavanols compared with this baseline after a year.
“It is those who do not consume them who really benefit from it,” Small said. “These are the hallmarks of a nutrient which you need to make ageing as positive as possible, as good as possible.”
Other scientists were split on the significance of the findings. Dr Davide Bruno, from Liverpool John Moores University, called it “a good and convincing piece of work”, although he added that the effects on memory were “modest”.
Professor David Curtis, from UCL, was more sceptical, saying that he remained to be convinced that the findings could not be attributed to chance. “There is no need for anybody to contemplate changing their diet,” he said.
Aedin Cassidy, professor of nutrition and preventive medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, said, however, it was a “really important study”, and argued that it tallied with a growing body of evidence.
“Although we have animal experiments and short-term human studies showing that flavanols improve cognitive function, this is the first long-term intervention trial showing that dietary flavanols can restore memory in older adults whose general diet was of poor quality,” he said.
“The dose required for these improvements in brain health is readily achievable - for example one mug of tea, six squares of dark chocolate, a couple of servings of berries/apples.”
THE TIMES
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