In a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers in the US and UK investigated whether a balanced diet including foods rich in flavanols could help to improve memory in older adults. Dietary flavanols are food constituents found in certain fruits and vegetables. Participants of the study were part of a larger ongoing study of more than 21,000 adults looking into the health benefits of flavanols from cocoa. Characteristics of over 3.500 healthy US adults with an average of 71 years old were included in this study. Participants received either a daily cocoa flavanol supplement pill (500 mg of cocoa flavanols per day) or a placebo for three years. Researchers assessed the participants’ memory and thinking skills, quality of diet and levels of the flavanol indicator in their urine. They showed that the flavanol supplement, after three years, boosted memory test scores among participants who originally had the lowest-quality diet and lowest amounts of urine biomarker.