A recent study published in the journal Aging Between consumption of chocolate and green tea and an increased life span for older adults, consuming green tea along with a diet rich in cocoa may reduce age-related neuromuscular changes, according to the Times of India.
How does sarcopenia affect the elderly?
Sarcopenia is the main causative factor for decreased physical performance in the elderly, a medical term for muscle loss. It is estimated that 5-13 percent of older adults between the ages of 60 and 70 suffer from sarcopenia.
The study notes that the impairment of muscle function associated with sarcopenia has a negative impact on the quality of life of older adults and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes, including disability, fall-related injuries, illness, and death.
Dietary intake of flavonoids from green tea or cocoa was able to significantly increase the survival rate of aged mice and prevent some of the regressive structural changes that occur with aging in the distinct cellular components of the neuromuscular system.
chocolate
How did these diets help?
The researchers demonstrated that both systems clearly preserve neuromuscular connections and their maturation, delay the aging process of skeletal muscle, and enhance their regenerative capacity. GTE The green tea, but not the cocoa, reduced the disease microgliosis associated with aging.
Study details
The study demonstrates the effect of two flavonoid-rich diets containing either green tea extract (GTE) or cocoa flavanols, on age-related regressive changes in the neuromuscular system of rats participating in the study.
“Our data suggest that some plant flavonoids may be useful in the nutritional management of age-related decline in the neuromuscular system,” said the study authors.
