A dose of flavonoids called flavanols found in tea, cocoa, apples and berries is key to improving memory in the aging brain.
“Supplementation with flavanols reversed lower memory in participants who had lower diet quality after one year of eating and this was sustained over the three-year intervention period.”
“So while habitual diets are not as healthy as they could be, we now have evidence that simple additions to the diet like flavanols can contribute to maintaining brain health as we age.”
The team also maintained that they couldn’t definitively conclude that a diet low in flavanols caused memory loss because they didn’t run an experiment where they removed the flavanols to see if it worsened memory.
The researchers intend to find out by conducting clinical trials in which they restore flavanol levels in adults with flavanol deficiency to see if it improves memory.
