> The published study involved 37 volunteers. A larger study is planned to try and replicate the findings.
PLEASE keep us posted. Only if a larger study shows similar results may we conclude there even MIGHT be something to this. More science will hopefully follow.

I rented the Nature Neuroscience paper to find out what dosage was used as "high flavonols." From the paper, "Subjects receiving high DF were instructed to take 2 450-mg high-flavanol supplements, for a 900-mg daily dose."
I could find no mention in the paper itself of the source of this supplement.
The results were based on a single test, the ModBent, " procedurally designed to be a novel object recognition task that is distinguished by the use of stimuli that were deliberately generated to have high visual similarities, ensuring that performance is heavily dependent on pattern separation."
This test is used because, "as established in aging mice, worsening performance in novel object recognition is a characteristic of the aging hippocampal circuit."
The results showed, "Improvement on the ModBent in the high-flavanol group was equivalent to improvements in cognition by approximately three decades of life..." based on comparisons with a younger set of test subjects.

I have been a chocoholic for 66 years. In the last few years I have been buying raw cacao powder in large quantities to get the best price at Amazon. Now I question the quality. I would pay for a "Consumer Report" type analysis of all suppliers.
If I lived in a subtropical climate I would grow my own. Too bad no one in the US does this commercially.

Just from a brief look around on Google search, it would appear that there are a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, pulses and beverages that are rich in flavanoids. A diverse and healthy diet is all you need to get adequate amounts not just of flavanoids, but a whole range of other benign dietary inputs that are good for health.
The research certainly seems to be a good bet for Mars Corp, but no particular additional benefit for people who are into healthy eating and drinking.

A company called CocoaVia claims to use the Mars extraction process and has caps at 250 mg flavonols. Four of those a day just exceeds the amount reported in the paper.

So where can the average person get properly prepared Flavanols? I've read articles like this one before, and as I chocolate lover, I'm left a little disappointment. If my dark chocolate bar wasn't prepared properly, then it's silly for me to think it's helping my memory. Please include how an average person can get Flavanols or how to know if my dark chocolate bar has any in it. Thanks!

Hi Ruth, the USDA database on flavanols lists general averages for a variety of foods, including chocolate (see page 104), although not raw cocoa powder http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/80400525/Data/Flav/Flav_R03.pdf
Hopefully as nutritional medicine becomes more commonplace the type of information you're looking for will be easier to find and we'll be able to make better nutrition choices for specific health and wellbeing issues.

Thanks for your timely reply, Karen!

At 73 I need all the help I can get. I've always had the problem of meeting someone in the hall at work that I've worked with for years and their name won't come to me. But now the number of times I go to another room to get something and after getting there can't remember what I was going after is increasing.
I'm still working as an engineer so the daily mental activity is helping ward off the onset of Alzheimer's.
Looking through the table provided by Karen Sprey nothing really jumps out that provides high levels of flavonols except maybe parsley flakes and a few such foods. And how many cups of parsley flakes can a person ingest in a day. It looks like the CocoaVia caps might be the best source.

I eat chocolate. I don't remember ever forgetting.