If only it was true, my Dad loves and eats a lot of chocolate, still has alzhiemers and getting worse every year!!!
On Tue, Aug 13, 2013 at 9:09 AM, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0813/chocolate_seniors_brains.php3**** > > ** ** > > *Chocolate may help keep brain healthy, sharp in old age, study says ***** > > By Melissa Pandika **** > > **** > > > **[image: L]***OS ANGELES —* (MCT) Older chocoholics may have a new > excuse to indulge their cravings: The dark stuff not only soothes the soul, > but might also sharpen the mind. **** > > In a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology, researchers > reported that chocolate may help improve brain health and thinking skills > in the elderly. The Boston-based team found that older people who initially > performed poorly on a memory and reasoning test and also had reduced blood > flow to their brains showed improvement after drinking two cups of cocoa > every day for a month. **** > > The researchers had set out to test whether chocolate could increase blood > flow to the brain during problem solving, boosting performance, after > finding in earlier studies that consuming chocolate high in the antioxidant > flavanol was associated with better brain and blood vessel functioning. > They recruited 60 elderly subjects for the new study. Since they suspected > that flavanol would improve the subjects' thinking skills and blood flow, > they randomly assigned subjects to drink either flavanol-rich or > flavanol-poor hot chocolate. **** > > ** ** > > > The participants drank two cups of hot chocolate every day for 30 days. > Before and after the study period, they completed a memory and reasoning > test, which assessed their ability to recognize patterns in a series of > letters on a computer screen. Additionally, the researchers used ultrasound > to indirectly measure the blood flow to subjects' brains, as well as > magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, to examine subjects' white matter — the > nerve fibers that connect different parts of the brain. **** > > People who performed poorly on the initial cognitive test — about a third > of the participants — also had reduced blood flow to their brains and > widespread white matter damage. Those who scored high on the test had > significantly better blood flow and more intact white matter, indicating > that blood flow, cognitive functioning and brain structure were linked. ** > ** > > At the end of the 30 days, the team found that drinking hot chocolate > benefited only the subjects who had poor cognitive and neurovascular > function to begin with. After the hot cocoa regimen, those individuals > showed an 8 percent improvement in blood flow and a roughly 1 minute faster > reaction time on the cognitive task. There was barely any improvement among > those who had started out with normal blood flow and cognitive skills. *** > * > > To the scientists' surprise, there weren't significant differences in the > neurovascular or cognitive changes between the flavanol-rich and > flavanol-poor groups — suggesting that something else in the chocolate was > causing the improvements. The researchers plan to identify and test this > component in future trials, said study leader Dr. Farzaneh A. Sorond, a > neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. **** > > After identifying the substance, the researchers may even be able to > produce it in pill form, said Dr. Costantino Iadecola, a neurologist at > Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, who was not involved in the > study. **** > > By showing that blood flow to the brain is associated with cognitive > function, the study helps explain earlier findings that people with high > blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions were prone to developing > dementia. This, in turn, suggests that the cognitive functioning test and > other measures used in the trial may one day serve as cheap, noninvasive > methods to screen people for risk of dementia. **** > > > Scientists have focused more on treating than on preventing age-related > cognitive decline, Sorond said. **** > > "By the time people develop these problems, it's too late to initiate the > drugs we have," she said. "If we could diagnose them earlier, before they > have clinical symptoms, using physiological markers … maybe we could > prevent the disease or lessen its impact." **** > > The study has its limitations. The ultrasound technique the researchers > used offered only an estimate of blood flow to the brain — a precise > measurement would require a more invasive method. "This was an easy way to > get this information, but not the most accurate way," Iadecola said. **** > > He added that the study was small, and that it was unclear how long the > chocolate's effects would last. **** > > "Will these changes persist after a month of cocoa or go back to where > they were before? Would you take the cocoa forever?" Iadecola said. "We > don't know." **** > > Although the study results may tempt some to add chocolate to their diet, > Sorond noted that the participants' food intake was strictly regulated to > offset the excess fat and sugar in hot chocolate. For people seeking to > keep their brains healthy, she recommends an intervention already known to > improve cognitive function: exercise. **** > > ** ** > > > __._,_.___ > > > > > > > __,_._,___ > > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > -- brine http://brineb.blogspot.com/ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
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