A study from various centres led by Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts USA has shown that drinking the equivalent of two cups of cocoa might improve memory retention. Sixty healthy people of between ages 66 and 78 with no dementia were studied in a parallel-arm, double-blind clinical trial. They were required to drink the equivalent of two cups of hot cocoa with no other type of chocolate eaten, over 30 days. The trial assessed various tests of mental ability and monitored blood flow to the brain using ultrasound measurement. Areas of the brain that need more energy to complete functions and tasks require higher blood flow and is termed neurovascular coupling.

Eighteen of the participants had poor blood flow at the start of the study and for these people, improved blood flow was linked to better performance in the memory tests. In fact, there was an 8% improvement in flow to the working areas of the brain. There were no improvements in those with normal or regular blood flow to the brain.

Although the study was relatively small, it adds to the body of evidence linking chocolate and cocoa to improvements in brain performance and possible to minimising the impact if Alzheimer’s. The componentry in cocoa has been studied intensively and the polyphenols present are known to be important antioxidants.

Reference

Sorond, F,A., Hurwitz, S., Salat, D.H., Greve, D.N., Fisher, N.D.L. (2013) Neurovascular coupling, cerebral white matter integrity, and response to cocoa in older people. Neurology doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182a351aa