Cocoa flavanol consumption improves cognitive function, blood pressure control, and metabolic profile in elderly subjects: the Cocoa, Cognition, and Aging (CoCoA) Study--a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Recent evidence has indicated that flavanol consumption may have many health benefits in humans, including improved cognitive activities.

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the effect of flavanol consumption on cognitive performance in cognitively intact elderly subjects.

Design: This was a double-blind, controlled, parallel-arm study conducted in 90 elderly individuals without clinical evidence of cognitive dysfunction who were randomly assigned to consume daily for 8 wk a drink containing 993 mg [high flavanol (HF)], 520 mg [intermediate flavanol (IF)], or 48 mg [low flavanol (LF)] cocoa flavanols (CFs).