that may help reduce inflammation) intake impacted age-related memory decline in older adults. Or rather, researchers looked at how a diet low in flavanols could drive age-related memory loss.
More than 3,500 healthy older adults, who were on average 71 years old, were randomly assigned to receive a daily flavanol supplement or placebo pill for three years. The active supplement contained 500 mg of flavanols, including 80 mg of epicatechins, an amount that adults are advised to get from food. All participants also completed a survey at the beginning of the study that assessed their quality of diet, including foods known to be high in flavanols.
Participants then performed a series of activities to assess short-term memory. These tests were repeated after the first, second, and third years. More than a third of participants supplied urine samples that allowed researchers to more precisely determine if flavanol levels corresponded to performance on the cognitive tests. The urine test also checked that participants were sticking to their assigned regimen.
Memory scores improved only slightly for the entire group taking the daily flavanol supplement, most of whom were already eating a healthy diet full of flavanols. But, participants who ate a poorer diet and had lower levels of flavanols to begin with saw memory scores increase after taking flavanol supplements by an average of 10.5% compared to the placebo group and 16% compared to their memory at the beginning of the study.
“The improvement among study participants with low-flavanol diets was substantial and raises the possibility of using flavanol-rich diets or supplements to improve cognitive function in older adults,” Adam M. Brickman, Ph.D.
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