Cocoa flavanols, the unique compounds found naturally in cocoa, may increase blood flow to the brain, according to research published in the Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment journal.By Bob DeMarco
The researchers suggest that long-term improvements in brain blood flow could impact cognitive behavior, offering future potential for debilitating brain conditions including dementia and stroke.
In a scientific study of healthy, older adults ages 59 to 83, Harvard medical scientists found that study participants who regularly drank a cocoa flavanol-rich beverage, had an eight percent increase in brain blood flow after one week, and 10 percent increase after two weeks.This information should be of interest to Alzheimer's caregivers, and is certainly worth considering.
Cocoa flavanols, the unique compounds found naturally in cocoa, may increase blood flow to the brain, according to new research published in the Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment journal. The researchers suggest that long-term improvements in brain blood flow could impact cognitive behavior, offering future potential for debilitating brain conditions including dementia and stroke.