Cocoa has been linked
to vascular health and researchers have always thought the flavanol are
responsible for the effect. In a study to understand the effect of cocoa on dementia
in elderly people, 60 aged people with no history of dementia were monitored
and it was discovered that taking at least two cups of cocoa a day improved cerebral
blood circulation.
60 people aged 73 on
average including 17 diagnosed with impaired blood flow to the brain were asked
to drink two cups of cocoa every day. The cocoa taking group was subdivided
into two; one group was given high flavanol cocoa and another low flavanol
type. They were to consume no other chocolate type.
Results from the
journal of Neurology indicated that regardless of which type of cocoa taken,
88% of impaired blood flow cases at the start of the study had significant
improvements compared to 37% of those who had normal flow at the start of the
experiment. Also those participants whose blood flow had improved also had
better memory tests at the end of the study.
Some critics have said that since this study lacked a control
group for comparison, it is not possible to tell whether the participants had
never drunk cocoa at all. The results are thus,
not conclusive and more research will be needed before major inferences could
be done.
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