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Cocoa could help aging brains

Cocoa flavanols show benefits in study.

August 14, 2012 at 8:49PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Cocoa flavanols have shown some benefits for the heart, but they may also be good for cognitive function in older people, researchers found.

In a double-blind study, elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment who consumed high or moderate levels of cocoa flavanols for 2 months had significant improvements on certain cognitive assessment tests compared with those who took in only small amounts, Giovambattista Desideri, PhD, of the University of L'Aquila in Italy, and colleagues reported online in Hypertension.

Evidence suggests eating flavonoids, polyphenic compounds from plant-based foods, may confer cardiovascular benefits. Flavonols are a subclass of these compounds that are abundant in tea, grapes, red wine, apples, and cocoa products including chocolate.

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about the writer

Colleen Stoxen

Deputy Managing Editor for News Operations

Colleen Stoxen oversees hiring, intern programs, newsroom finances, news production and union relations. She has been with the Minnesota Star Tribune since 1987, after working as a copy editor and reporter at newspapers in California, Indiana and North Dakota.

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