Low-flavanol diet leads to age-related memory loss
A large-scale study led by researchers at Columbia and Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard is the first to establish that a diet low in flavanols-nutrients found in certain fruits and vegetables—drives age-related memory loss. The study found that flavanol intake among older adults tracks with scores on tests designed to detect memory loss due to normal aging and that replenishing these bioactive dietary components in mildly flavanol-deficient adults over age 60 improves performance on these tests.
More than 3,500 healthy older adults were randomly assigned to receive a daily flavanol supplement (in pill form) or placebo pill for three years. The active supplement contained 500 mg of flavanols, including 80 mg epicatechins, an amount that adults are advised to get from food. Memory scores improved only slightly for the entire group taking the daily flavanol supplement, most of whom were already eating a healthy diet with plenty of flavanols.
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