Recently chocolate has been getting a lot of publicity. “Rich in anti-oxidants!” and “Flavonols” are some of the keywords you might hear whenever chocolate is presented in a healthy light on TV or radio. Here is another feather in its cap.
A study published in the Journal of Hypertension, titled “Aging and vascular responses to flavanol-rich cocoa” (Abstract) suggests that adults who drank a specially processed cocoa beverage rich in flavonols for four to six days improved their blood vessel function, and older adults appeared to benefit the most. The study was based on 15 healthy adults under age 50 and 19 healthy adults over 50 who drank a specially made flavonol-rich cocoa every day for four to six days.
“Aging is typically associated with deterioration in vessel health, specifically related to function of the critical inner lining, or endothelium,” says researcher Naomi Fisher, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, in a news release. “Our findings demonstrate that consumption of this flavonol-rich cocoa can improve the function of blood vessels in a healthy elderly population.”
But as always remember that you should consider your primary goals first - if it is to lose weight, then be aware of the calorific payload of anything you eat. Chocolates for example don’t have the best payload profile, but in small quantities may be beneficial.
The article concludes:
But before you reach for that chocolate bar, experts say the flavonol-rich cocoa products used in these studies should not be confused with commercially available snacks that contain many calories but are low in natural cocoa and flavonols.
-Via WebMD
Want to try the same thing done in the study? The cocoa beverage was made with Mars Cocoapro, which is a process that helps retain the flavonols naturally found in cocoa beans. Mars Inc. provided the cocoa beverage and also provided partial funding for the study.
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