Compound in cocoa found to reverse age-related memory loss.

In case anyone needed another reason to love chocolate, a new study suggests that a natural compound found in cocoa, tea and some vegetables can reverse age-related memory loss.

The study involved 37 healthy subjects who ranged in age from 50 to 69. On a random basis, they were given either a high-flavanol diet, consuming 900 milligrams a day, or a low flavanol diet, consuming 10mg per day. Brain scans, which measure blood volume in the dentate gyrus, and memory tests were used to evaluate the effect of the diet. Small said the typical candy bar contains about 40mg of flavanols.
The findings suggest that the compound increases connectivity and, subsequently, blood flow in a region of the brain critical to memory, the researchers said.

The study — published online Sunday in Nature Neuroscience and partly financed by a chocolate company — found that flavanols reverse mild memory loss in older adults. Using brain scans and memory tests, the latest study built on previous work showing that flavanols extracted from cocoa beans had improved neuronal connections in mice’s dentate gyrus, a part of the brain involved in memory formation.

Researchers said that if a person had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the beginning of the study, after three months, on average, that person’s memory would function more like a 30- or 40-year-old’s. The researchers also cautioned that more work is needed because of the study’s small sample size.

Cocoa flavanols lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function in chronic kidney disease patients.

We’ve known for awhile that cocoa flavanols can help with both cognitive function and age-related memory loss, but new research now shows it can also help people with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

CKD, which affects more than 26 million people in the United States, is often caused by high blood pressure and diabetes. Once it develops, patients are at higher risk for kidney stones, kidney cancer, and cardiovascular disease — which is the number one cause of death for people with CKD. Knowing this, Dr. Tienush Rassaf, of the University Hospital Essen in Germany, and his team hypothesized blood vessel function could be improved in patients with CKD with the help of cocoa flavanols, antioxidants found in the cocoa bean plant.   

For their study, the researchers brought together 57 participants who were on dialysis, a procedure typically performed on patients who’ve lost 85 to 90 percent of kidney function, known as end-stage kidney failure. Then, they gave half the participants a beverage with 900 milligrams of cocoa flavanols every day for 30 days, while the other half drank a beverage with the same nutrients but without the cocoa flavanols.

After the 30 days, the researchers found the cocoa-flavanol drinkers had improved blood vessel function and decreased diastolic blood pressure. The participants who did not drink the cocoa-flavanol beverage, on the other hand, were found to have no observable effects on their blood. vessel function or blood pressure. What’s more, this change appeared long before the 30 days were up — from the first drink, evidence of lower diastolic blood pressure and improved blood vessel function emerged.  

While these results are encouraging for those who currently live with CKD, it should be noted that eating chocolate won’t help  CKD, and it’ll surely be frowned upon by your doctor. Treatment for CKD usually comes down to controlling weight, eating as healthy as possible, and leading an active lifestyle. Before administration of cocoa flavones can become a regular treatment option, however, the researchers said further study would be needed.

Source: Rassaf T, et al. Vasculoprotective Effects of Dietary Cocoa Flavanols in Patients on Hemodialysis: A Double–Blind, Randomized, Placebo–Controlled Trial. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology . 2015.

6 REASONS TO STOP EATING TILAPIA

There’s something fishy happening in the world of seafood, and we’re not quite sure how to handle it. While health concerns with foods as seemingly simple as a can of tuna fish have been raised by some, others are doing their best to remedy this and bring purity back to the seafood industry. Whether it’s tuna fish, salmon, or tilapia, though, it’s important that the entire food industry takes a step back and reassess the way fish are raised, processed, and served.

The sushi industry, in particular, has had some mislabeling issues over the past few years. According to a study by Oceana, in 2012, roughly 58 percent of New York City sushi restaurants were selling fish that wasn’t labeled properly, with the worst culprits being rolls and platters advertising the inclusion of red snapper. There were up to 13 different types of fish labelled as red snapper that were, in fact, entirely different species. Additionally, about 94 percent of white tuna sold in the same year wasn’t white tuna at all. This “white tuna” was actually escolar, a type of snake mackerel with purgative effects.

Dr. Michael S. Fenster, MD, FACC, FSCA&I, PEMBA, a faculty member at The University of Montana College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, has strong convictions when it comes to the consumption of seafood, sushi and otherwise.

1.       Antibiotics and Pesticides

“If you crowd your fish into ponds [that contain] oozing heavy metals, pesticides, and other toxins from industrial effluent, it is not hard to imagine that a few of the fish might become a tad susceptible to infection,” Fenster said. “A recent study sampled imported seafood and found imported tilapia treated with oxytetracycline, and a farmed salmon marketed as antibiotic free was actually found to contain traces of virginiamycin [both are antibiotics]. Other studies have found tilapia from China treated with malachite green [a dyestuff and antimicrobial] and nitrofurans [another antibiotic]. While the levels found were below the regulatory limits, studies have shown that such usage can promote the development of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Humanely and naturally raised products taste better and are, quite simply, better for you.”

2. DDT and Other Contaminants

 “Some tilapia imported from China has shown significant concentrations of the pesticide DDT and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be associated with industrial pollution,” according to Fenster. “Over 85 percent of all US seafood is imported, but the FDA checks just 2 percent for contaminants which include drug residues, microbes, and heavy metals. This is in contradistinction to Europe (20 to 50 percent), Japan (18 percent), and Canada (15 percent). And when the FDA does examine for drugs, for example, they currently search for only 13 drugs. Europe currently tests for 34 drugs. The result was that in 2009, 0.1 percent of all imported seafood was inspected for drug residues.”

3. Fishy Factors That are Often Out of Reach

In order to remain safe while consuming any seafood, Fenster believes that you need to know exactly what it is you’re buying, where it came from, how it was raised (if it's not wild), and how it was processed.

4. GMOs in Farmed Tilapia

“If the toxic environment, overcrowding, steroids, and drugs weren’t enough,” Fenster said, consider the fact that tilapia “can’t even get a real meal. Because tilapia naturally consume algae, aquatic plants, aquatic insects, and the like, they are readily adaptable to an inexpensive diet. This diet is usually predominantly made from genetically modified corn and soy.”

5. Lack of Omega-3s in Farmed Tilapia

“Many experts believe the beneficial, healthful effect associated with the consumption of fish and seafood has to do with the consumption of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are found in many varieties of such comestibles,” Fenster said. “However, because the diet of many tilapia farmed in other countries is not their natural diet, they tend to be significantly lower in terms of omega-3 concentration than their wild relatives [and] tilapia is not a fish naturally high in omega-3 PUFAs to start. Because anti-inflammatory omega-3 PUFAs exist in a natural dynamic balance with the more inflammatory omega-6 PUFAs, when you have less of one you will have more of another. Higher levels of pro-inflammatory compounds like arachidonic acid and a higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio make tilapia a less attractive choice for those looking to boost their intake of beneficial, anti-inflammatory omega-3 PUFAs.”