According to a recent study published in PNAS, increasing flavonol consumption may improve memory scores in older adults. The study, conducted over a three-year intervention period, administered either 500mg of cocoa flavanols per day or a placebo to over 3,500 older participants with an average age of 71 years. Results showed that baseline diet and habitual flavanol intakes were positively correlated with hippocampal-dependent memory, and in those with lower dietary quality scores or flavanol consumption, the flavanol intervention significantly improved memory scores, suggesting restored hippocampal-dependent memory. However, it should be noted that no significant improvement in memory was found after one year of intervention.
Professor Gunter Kunhle, who helped lead the study, suggests that an optimal amount of flavanol intake is around 500mg/d, and that a dietary recommendation for flavanols should shift towards maintaining health, like for fiber. “This should not be limited to flavanols of course, there are other bioactive compounds that might be relevant – but the work on flavanols could serve as a model,” he stresses.
With an aging population, the prevalence of age-related cognitive issues has been increasing, and flavonoids, compounds naturally found within fruits and vegetables, may prevent cognitive decline with age. Research suggests that they may be associated with hippocampal-dependent memory. The researchers state that the experimental findings implicate dietary flavanols as a specific constituent of a healthy diet that can underlie the hippocampal-dependent memory component of cognitive aging.
Moreover, previous studies have mirrored these findings, with dietary flavanols enhancing hippocampal-dependent memory by increasing synaptic and blood vessel density. Although the results of this study are promising, unanswered questions remain, such as the lack of representative data on a population-wide intake of flavonols and inter-individual differences in response to flavanols.
In conclusion, the findings of this study highlight the potential benefits of flavanols in preventing cognitive decline with age and suggest that increasing flavanols in one’s diet may contribute to improved memory scores. Further research is needed to fully understand the impact of flavanols on cognitive health.
