Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, conducted a study in genetically modified mice with Alzheimer’s disease. The authors of the study published in the medical journal Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease analyzed the impact of three forms of cocoa (natural, alkalized and “lavado”) on disease and brain synapses. “Lavabo” cocoa is a specific preparation made from washed and fermented cocoa for two days.
Lavado cocoa protects the brain against Alzheimer’s disease
The extract of “lavado” cocoa is mainly composed of polyphenols, antioxidants that prevent beta-amyloid proteins from clumping in the brain. It could help reduce the damage caused by the disease, even before the first symptoms do. appear. Indeed, the results of the study revealed that only “lavado” cocoa showed real effectiveness in protecting brain synapses. It helped prevent proteins from forming plaques in the brain and slowed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Since we believe that cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s diseasestarts years before symptoms appear, we believe our findings have very broad implications in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, ”says Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, lead investigator of the study.
If the results of this study are encouraging, researchers have yet to carry out further studies to successfully create dietary supplements based on “lavado” cocoa. This would make it possible to prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease at a lower cost and even to slow its development.
In France, more than 850,000 people are affected by the diseaseAlzheimer’sand nearly 225,000 new cases are diagnosed per year and the number of patients is expected to reach two million by 2020.
