Good news chocolate lovers - cocoa may help with memory loss , Latest Lifestyle News - The New Paper
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Good news chocolate lovers - cocoa may help with memory loss

Folks, it's time to thank researchers from Columbia University.

According to a new study, flavanols, a component of cocoa (a key ingredient of chocolate, of course), reverses at least one aspect of memory loss associated with normal ageing. 

The study was conducted on 37 individuals aged 50 to 69. Half were told to consume 900 mg of cocoa flavanols and the other half, just 10 mg everyday for three months.

After three months, both groups took a memory test conducted by Scott Small, professor of neurology at Columbia’s Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, and his colleague Adam Brickman.

The results were remarkable.

The group that took high amounts of cocoa performed much better on the visual memory test, as if they were 30 years younger. 

Cocoa flavanols also show promising properties in preventing heart disease, stroke and other vascular reactions.  

Don't stuff your face with chocolate bars just yet - researchers say it will take years to fully study the effect of flavanols, plus most chocolate bars on the market don't have the type or quantity of flavanols used in the study. 

Source: TIME

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