ROVERETO. The sweet pleasure of a chocolate cube could hide far more significant benefits than a simple moment of relaxation and pleasure. If for cocoa lovers the healing power of chocolate is already a certainty, now even science is taking care of it.
To test the positive effects of dark chocolate on the human body will in fact be a clinical study starting in the coming weeks at Cerism, the Sport, Mountain and Health Research Center in Rovereto.
The thesis advanced by the researchers is that a chocolate enriched with polyphenols and vitamin E can counteract the loss of muscle mass in the elderly.especially those with dementia.
“We face the problem of dementia from a physical point of view – explains Roberto Modena, project manager at the Rovereto site – with the aim of improving the quality of life of these people, who in the medium and long term is also affected by decay physicist.
Advancing age can be accompanied by insufficient nutritional status in quantitative or qualitative terms, in particular with regard to protein intake, which can translate into weight and muscle mass loss. This picture can accelerate a physiological physical and cognitive decline, negatively influencing the quality of life of these people, limiting their daily autonomy, increasing the risk of falls and worsening the state of health “.
Alongside diet and training, chocolate with its natural antioxidant properties enters the scene.
Participants in the study – seniors over 65 and diagnosed with dementia – will be divided into three groups: if everyone has to follow nutritional advice and carry out physical activity regularly, one of the groups will also be prescribed thirty grams of dark chocolate with added polyphenols, substances of which it is already naturally rich, per day, while the third group of seniors will be given a chocolate further enriched with vitamin E.
For three months the researchers will monitor patients to see if this enriched chocolatewhich will be produced by Perugina, partner of the study, has the expected beneficial effects on patients.
«The effect of polyphenols already known to medicine is to control the levels of cortisol in the body – continues Modena – a substance that is linked to the loss of muscle mass. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and the hypothesis we make is that this may enhance the effect of polyphenols in chocolate by further attenuating the loss of muscle mass in the elderly. There are already some in vitro studies on chocolate and some even with the involvement of people on the effectiveness in the control of cortisol, the innovative aspects in the study that we will do in Rovereto are the advanced age of the participants, the association with regular exercise physicist with chiniesologists and the context of people with dementia ».
Organizing the study is a consortium of universities and research centers, including the Cerism of Rovereto, the universities of Verona, Perugia, Molde (Norway) and Liverpool (United Kingdom).
“I believe that participating in a clinical study, which guarantees certain safety and ethical criteria, is an opportunity for those who live here,” says Modena.
The recruitment of patients is in progress, to participate the contacts are those of Cerism: 0464 483521, [email protected].