Dietary flavanol deficiency may increase age-related memory loss
One study determined that a diet low in flavanols, which are nutrients found in some vegetables and fruits, promotes age-related memory loss.
Researchers have determined that flavanol consumption in older adults monitored checkpoints for normal aging-induced dementia and the supplementation of these dietary components in those older 60 years old with mild flavanol deficiency improves test performance.
The improvement in people on a low-flavanol diet is significant, and the use of supplements or a diet rich in flavanols to improve cognitive function in older adults could be a possibility.
The results also support the notion that aging brains need certain nutrients for ideal health, just as developing brains need certain nutrients for optimal development.
The study builds on more than 15 years of research linking age-related memory loss with changes in a specific region of the brain’s hippocampus called the dentate gyrus, an area essential for learning new memories, suggesting improved function of flavanols in this brain region.
Another study in mice revealed that flavanols, specifically a bioactive ingredient found in flavanols called epicatechin, improved memory by promoting the growth of neurons and blood vessels. in the hippocampus.
The researchers then tested flavanol supplements, with one small study demonstrating that tooth folds are linked to cognitive aging. A second, larger study determined that flavanols enhance memory by selectively acting on this region of the brain and most impacting those who started off with a poor-quality diet.
The present study was developed to examine the effects of flavanols in a much larger group and to examine whether flavanol deficiency promotes cognitive aging in this brain region.
More than 3,500 healthy older adults were randomly assigned to receive a daily flavanol supplement containing 500 mg of flavanols, including 80 mg of epicatechin, or a placebo pill for 3 years.
All participants completed a survey at the start of the study to assess the quality of their diet, including foods shown to be high in flavanols. Then, a series of web-based activities were performed in their own homes to assess the types of short-term memory managed by the hippocampus. After years 1, 2 and 3, the tests are repeated.
Urine samples were also provided by more than a third of the participants allowing biomarkers of dietary flavanol levels before as well as during the study. Biomarkers provide a more precise way to determine if flavanol levels correspond to cognitive test performance and ensure that individuals adhere to the regimen to which they are assigned.
Flavanol levels varied slightly, although no individual was severely flavanol deficient. Flavanol supplementation is beneficial for people with mild flavanol deficiency.
There was only a slight improvement in memory scores for the daily flavanol group, the majority of whom adopted a healthy diet rich in flavanols.
However, at the end of the first year of flavanol supplementation, those who had been on a poorer diet and had reduced baseline flavanol levels saw their memory scores increase by an average of 10.5% compared to placebo. and 16% compared to their group. basic memory. The improvement seen after 1 year was maintained for a minimum of 2 more years.
Study results indicate that flavanol deficiency promotes age-related memory loss as consumption of flavanols is associated with memory scores and that flavanol supplementation improves memory in individuals with flavanol deficiency. .
The study results are in line with the results of another study, which observed that flavanol supplements did not improve memory in people with high baseline flavanol levels. Previous research did not examine the effects of flavanol supplementation on individuals with low and high flavanol intakes individually. What both studies showed was that flavanols did not affect people without flavanol deficiency.
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