The holiday season is synonymous with chocolate – dark, milk or white, with nuts, seeds, fruit or other delicacies. And you don’t have to feel too guilty about indulging: numerous studies have looked into the benefits of cocoa for the heart, memory, skin aesthetics, mental health, and even to counter the effects of jet lag!
And now, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the United States have focused on the benefits of cocoa, specifically the effects of cocoa flavanols – natural compounds found in cocoa beans – on cognitive function.
The Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study was conducted among 21,442 older participants to determine the impact of daily cocoa-extract supplements on cardiovascular health, cancer, and other diseases. The participants included 573 individuals with an average age of 69 years, who consumed a daily cocoa-extract supplement containing 500mg of flavanols, or a placebo.
The experts then carried out cognitive tests at the start of the study, and again after two years.
The scientists’ findings aren’t great news for chocolate lovers, since “cognitive benefits were not found among participants who already had healthy dietary patterns at the start of the study”, according to a summary of the research.
“Results from detailed neuropsychological assessments given over two years showed that daily cocoa-extract supplementation, compared to placebo, had no overall benefits for global or domain-specific cognitive function.”
The summary, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, nevertheless noted that a proportion of participants with diets of “poor quality” gained cognitive advantages from the 500mg daily cocoa-extract supplement.
The researchers, however, do not elaborate on this, saying only that they intend to investigate further to determine a precise link between brain function and flavonoid consumption.
Previous research has already suggested that flavanols are good for memory, with a 2014 study from Columbia University, carried out on 37 healthy volunteers aged between 50 and 69, suggesting that cocoa flavanols can reverse age-related memory decline in healthy older people.
Notably, this group of participants received a flavanol-rich diet of 900mg per day. So could the key lie in the quantity absorbed?
In any case, as the festive season approaches, go ahead and indulge in a chocolatey treat – provided, as always, that it is enjoyed in moderation!