New research has shown that the flavonoids contained in cocoa are particularly beneficial for maintaining a healthy area of the brain dedicated to memory.
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It has now been demonstrated several times: the chocolate (the dark one) is good for you and can be consumed regularly, albeit in moderation. A recent study also highlighted the beneficial effect that i flavonoids contained in this food have on memory.
Over the years the memory tends to fade but the cacao could come to your aid and block this phenomenon by acting as a protective natural remedy against a particular area of our brain. To say this is a research conducted by a team of researchers from Columbia University and published in Nature Neuroscience.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists sampled 37 healthy subjects between the ages of 50 and 69 followed for 3 months. Divided into two groups: the first was given a diet that included 900mg per day of cocoa flavonoids, on the other hand, only 10 mg of these substances.
Before, during and after the experiment period, the participants' memory was evaluated through some metabolic tests and examinations which mainly focused on the area of the brain known as toothed gyrus. According to the scientists, it would be some changes (due to the natural phenomenon of aging) in this brain region that cause memory to be lost, a process that can be reversed thanks to the action of flavonoids.
The benefit obtained in those who took 900mg of cocoa flavonoids every day was evident, as Scott Small, lead author of the research pointed out: "If a participant had the typical memory of a 3-year-old at the beginning of the study (consuming the high-content drink flavonoids ed) after XNUMX months the same person had on average the typical memory of a thirty or forty year old ".
However, it is not enough to increase the consumption of chocolate o cocoa to obtain these benefits, it is essential to extract the flavonoids from this food and administer them in high doses. According to the same researchers, moreover, other studies are needed to confirm the results obtained.
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