In a new study published in the American Academy of Neurology, neurologists say to drink two cups of hot cocoa each day to stave off dementia. The study included 60 participants who had an average age of 73 and were never diagnosed with dementia. They drank two cups of hot cocoa each day for a month, while simultaneously abstaining from ingesting any other forms of chocolate, The Times of India reported. During the study, they also participated in various memory and thinking tests, while researchers tracked and monitored their brain blood flows.
The study researchers found that eighteen of the 60 test subjects who had impaired blood flow to their brains at the beginning of the study experienced an 8.3% improvement by the test’s end. Those who had normal blood flow at the outset of the experiment did not see any improved blood flow. People who had experienced the improved blood flow also saw their memory test results improve significantly. At the same time though, those who had normal blood flow at the beginning of the study once again did not see any improved memory test results at the end. “More work is needed to prove a link between cocoa, blood flow problems and cognitive decline,” said Paul Rosenberg, of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. “But this is an important step that could guide future studies.”
Resource: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/8/two-cups-cocoa-day-could-keep-dementia-away-neurol/
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