Only those with lower-quality diets who took daily supplements containing cocoa extract experienced a slight improvement in cognitive function.
It’s too soon, according to researchers, to suggest taking supplements containing coca extract to enhance cognitive performance.
Numerous lifestyle modifications, such as improved eating habits, frequent exercise, and proper sleeping habits, can lower the risk of dementia.
A recent randomized clinical research indicated that there were very slight gains in cognitive function in older persons who took a daily supplement containing cocoa extract for two years.

However, the gains were limited to individuals whose diet quality was lower at the beginning of the trial. Healthy eating habits did not produce a comparable improvement in cognitive function.

“These results suggest that flavanol-rich diets or supplements could be used to improve cognitive function in older adults who have lower-quality diets,” stated Chirag Vyas, MB,BS, of the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry in Boston.

The study was conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and it was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on December 7.

advantages of cocoa extract for people who eat poorly
As a component of the broader Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes trial (COSMOS), the new trial comprised 573 older men and women who were randomized to receive either an inactive placebo or daily doses of cocoa extract over a two-year period.

The participants were almost half female and 70 years old on average. Furthermore, 11% of participants said they consumed chocolate every day before to the trial’s commencement.

The participants in the cocoa extract group were given two capsules each day, totaling 500 mg of cocoa flavanols, of which 80 mg were epicatechin.

Flavanols, or flavan-3-ols, are a subclass of flavonoids, which are plant-based chemicals. Flavanols can be found in berries, apples, grapes, teas, and items made with cocoa.

When they were first enrolled in the study, participants took cognitive testing; 492 of them underwent the assessment again two years later.

The group’s overall cognitive function was unaffected by daily cocoa extract supplementation, according to data that the researchers looked at.

However, those receiving daily supplements of cocoa showed “comparatively better” improvements in overall cognition and executive function when compared to those whose diets were of lesser quality at the beginning of the trial.

A collection of mental abilities known as executive function is required for behavior management and self-control.

The outcomes support a previous study conducted on COSMOS participants, which discovered that daily use of flavanols enhanced a certain kind of memory in older persons with poorer diet quality.

It is in contrast to another COSMOS study (Trusted Source), which discovered that while cocoa extract had no effect on general cognition, taking a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement did. However, the study did not examine those with lower quality diets in isolation.

The food business Mars, through its subsidiary Mars Edge, and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon) provided funding and other support for the new study. Neither business participated in the data analysis, result interpretation, or study paper preparation.

Too soon to suggest cocoa powder
More research is required, even if the study suggests that cocoa additional supplements may improve cognition in those with poorer food quality.

“We are unable to suggest daily cocoa extract supplementation for maintaining cognitive function in light of our findings,” Vyas stated to Healthline.

“However, our results still highlight how important it is to take nutrition and diet into account in subsequent studies evaluating the effects of cocoa extract supplements on cognition,” the researcher stated.

In addition to concentrating particularly on individuals with poorer nutrition quality, he would like to see more varied populations included in future research.

The current study is noteworthy, according to Dr. Thomas Holland, a physician scientist at RUSH University in Chicago’s Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, because it focused on a particular dietary ingredient with very precise flavanols.

He compares this to research on the total dietary intake of another kind of flavonoid, flavonols, which he co-authored.

study, which was published in 2020 in NeurologyTrusted Source, by carefully examining the foods they consumed, including foods high in flavonols like kale, spinach, tomatoes, olive oil, beans, and tea.

The findings of that indicated a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease development in those who ate more foods high in flavonols.

Topics #Cocoa #older adults