Italian scientists have found evidence that a
daily dose of cocoa acts as a dietary supplement to counteract
different types of cognitive decline. The team found that
regularly eating cocoa was linked to improvements in working
memory and visual information processing and cocoa could be
particularly beneficial for certain people.
Cocoa is the dried and
fermented bean from the cocoa tree used to make chocolate
treats. Over the years, it has been found that a range of
naturally occurring chemicals in the cocoa bean have therapeutic
effects. For example, polyphenols in dark chocolate were found
to increase calmness and contentedness and flavanols were able
to reverse age-related memory decline. Chocolate also contains
theobromine, a toxic chemical, but to be at risk of poisoning
yourself, you would have to eat about 85 full sized chocolate
bars in one sitting.
In the study, the team looked through the literature for effects
of acute and chronic administration of cocoa flavanols on brain
activity and, more specifically, what happens if you do this
over a long period of time. The studies used to perform the
review mainly required the subjects to consume a low, medium or
large amount of cocoa in the form of a chocolate drink or bar
for a period of between five days and three months.
The scientists found that there was enough evidence to support
the health claims attributed to cocoa, and, in particular, the
flavanol compounds it contains. They noticed enhancements in
working memory performance and improved visual information
processing after consuming cocoa flavanols. The benefits varied
depending on the demographic being tested.
For the elderly, long term ingestion of cocoa flavanols improved
attention, mental processing, working memory, and verbal
fluency. It was most beneficial in those who had mild cognitive
impairments or the beginnings of memory loss.
For healthy people, without the beginnings of memory loss, cocoa
could also enhance normal cognitive functioning and have a
protective role on cognitive performance.
For women, eating cocoa after a night of total sleep deprivation
counteracted the cognitive impairment associated with no sleep.
Promising results for people that suffer from chronic sleep
deprivation or work different shift patterns.
"If you look at the underlying mechanism, the cocoa flavanols
have beneficial effects for cardiovascular health and can
increase cerebral blood volume. This structure is particularly
affected by ageing and therefore the potential source of
age-related memory decline in humans."
"Regular intake of cocoa and chocolate could indeed provide
beneficial effects on cognitive functioning over time," said the
researchers.