Cocoa flavanols help maintain brain health in older people
A study that revealed how cocoa flavanols can play an important role in maintaining cognitive health in ageing consumers made the news in February.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study trialled three drinks with varying cocoa flavanol content on men and women aged between 61 and 85 for eight weeks.
Cognitive function was tested at the start and at the end of the study by using memory, retention, recall and executive function tests.
Those who consumed higher levels of cocoa flavanols in the cocoa drinks, which were provided by Mars, showed a “significant improvement in overall cognitive function after eight weeks”, according to the study’s lead author Dr Giovambattista Desideri.
More research was needed to fully understand how cocoa flavanols affect cognitive function, Desideri added.