Cocoa Extract May Help Reduce Risk of Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

New research suggests that taking daily cocoa extract supplements may help boost in cognitive function in older adults.
• Older adults taking daily cocoa extract supplements saw a modest boost in cognitive function, but only if they had lower diet quality.
• Researchers say it’s too soon to recommend coca extract supplements for improving cognitive function.
• Many lifestyle interventions can reduce the risk of dementia, including better diet, regular physical activity, and good sleep hygiene.
Older adults who took a daily cocoa extract supplement for two years saw modest improvements in cognitive function, a new randomized clinical trial found.

The benefits, though, were only seen in people who had lower diet quality at the start of the study. Those with healthy dietary patterns didn’t see a similar boost in cognition.
“[The findings] raise the possibility of utilizing flavanol-rich diets or supplements to enhance cognitive function among older adults with lower diet quality,” said Chirag Vyas, MB,BS from the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Benefits of cocoa extract for those with lower quality diet
The new study, which is part of the larger Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS), included 573 older males and females who were randomly assigned to take daily cocoa extract or an inactive placebo for two years.

The average age of participants was 70 years, with around half female. In addition, 11% of participants reported eating chocolate daily before the start of the trial.
People in the cocoa extract group took two capsules a day containing a total of 500 milligrams of cocoa flavanols, including 80 milligrams of epicatechin.
Flavanols, also known as flavan-3-ols, are a sub-class of plant compounds known as flavonoids. Flavanols are found in teas, cocoa-based products, grapes, apples and berries.
Participants underwent cognitive testing when they were enrolled in the study; 492 participants repeated the testing two years later.
When researchers examined data for the entire group, daily cocoa extract supplements had no effect on people’s overall cognition.

However, when they looked at people with lower diet quality at the start of the study, people taking daily cocoa supplements had “relatively better” changes in overall cognition and executive function.
Takeaway
In a randomized clinical trial, older adults who took daily cocoa extract supplements for two years saw improvements in their cognitive function, but only if they had lower diet quality at the start of the study.
The results are in line with earlier research, which found that daily flavanol intake — a compound found in cocoa — improved cognitive function in people with lower diet quality.
Experts say more research is needed before recommending cocoa extract supplements for improving cognition, but there are other ways to reduce your risk of dementia, including improving overall diet and getting regular exercise.