Improve cardiovascular health with cocoa powder, fruit and tea
According to researchers in Germany, flavanol found in cocoa, fruit and tea can help improve cardiovascular health and circulatory systems work better. Accordingly, an adult who consumes a daily amount of flavanol drinks will have lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels than a non-flavanol drink group.
Members of EU-funded projects have used powdered drinks containing flavanol, extracted from pure fresh cocoa beans. These substances are also found in other foods such as apples, pears, pomegranates and green tea. This is also one of the first studies to consider the effect of flavanol on adults.
In an experiment of 105 people aged 35 to 60, volunteers consumed two glasses of water mixed with a powder / 500ml / day. Half of the people in that group were given a powder containing 450mg flavanol in each serving, while the other half used the same flavored powder, but did not contain flavanol. Participants were completely unaware of what kind of drink they were taking, and were encouraged to maintain their normal eating habits throughout the study.
The results showed that the blood pressure of flavanol-containing drinkers decreased by 3% for one month, and cholesterol by 4%. These substances increase the elasticity of blood vessels, making the heart contract more strongly and the circulatory system also works more smoothly than usual.
Scientists continue to point out health benefits in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction 1; 0.7 and 0.4 percentage points for more than ten years of life. Although it is difficult to predict a person's health index for ten years from a month-long study, those numbers are very positive forecasts.
Human heart health will be improved day by day
Although the effects are very small, the effect is very valuable because it prevents the development of heart disease; moreover, that study did not show any adverse effects on health. Dr. Heiss does not advise people to eat chocolate because of its high calorie content, but he encourages people to incorporate flavanol-containing foods into their diets such as: pure cocoa powder, apples, pears and other products…
Last year, US researchers launched a large-scale study of more than 18,000 people to investigate whether flavanol in cocoa pods can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and death. death from cardiovascular disease. One question that researchers enjoy most is how long it takes flavonols to work when given into the abdomen. The results of the study conducted by Brigham and Boston's women's hospital are expected to be published in 2019.