Cocoa's Benefits With Cardiovascular Disease
Cocoa powder, besides being able to make drinks, can make many delicious dishes. But did you know that cocoa is even beneficial for the heart? Join Cacao Trong Duc to learn about the benefits of cacao with your heart.
Flavanols in pure cocoa powder help protect heart health
As you age, the blood vessels become less flexible and expand to circulate blood normally, so the risk of high blood pressure also increases. Arteriosclerosis and vascular dysfunction are associated with cardiovascular disease - the largest cause of sudden death worldwide. Malte Kelm (professor at the University Hospital Düsseldorf and Scientific Director of FLAVIOLA) said: “Along with the aging of the world population, the incidence of cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction and stroke will increase. up. Therefore, we must understand the positive effects of the diet on cardiovascular disease. Through this, we want to know the role of foods containing flavanols in maintaining the health of the heart and blood vessels. ”
Cocoa flavanols are derived from cocoa beans. Previous research has demonstrated that cocoa flavanols help increase blood vessel elasticity and reduce cardiovascular pressure in people with high blood pressure and a history of heart disease. Meanwhile, the two studies in Age and BJN are the first to look at the positive effect of cocoa flavanols on either healthy people or low risk of heart disease.
Cocoa flavanols increase blood vessel flexibility and lower blood pressure
In the study published in Age, the researchers asked a group of 22 people (<35 years) and a group of 20 people (50-80 years) to drink 1 type of water 2 times / day for two weeks, half beverages containing flavanols. They then measured the effects of flavanols on cardiovascular aging, such as the stiffness of the artery walls (as measured by pulse wave velocity), blood pressure, and the flow through vasodilators (the extent to which blood vessels dilate in response to nitric oxide). They found that vasodilation was significantly improved in both age groups consuming flavanols (33% in the younger age group and 32% in the older age group). In the older group, blood pressure to the heart decreased significantly (4 mmHg).
Improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
In the second study, the researchers expanded their investigation to a larger group of 100 people (35-60 years old) who were at lower risk of heart disease. Participants were asked to randomly drink a beverage that could contain flavonol or not for 4 weeks, twice a day. The researchers also measured cholesterol levels, in addition to previous study readings
"We found that flavanols significantly improved cardiovascular health," Kelm said. In particular, the researchers found that consuming flavanols for four weeks increased 21% of the flow-mediated vasodilatory flow, reducing atherosclerosis and hardening of artery walls. In addition, flavanols reduce blood cholesterol by reducing total cholesterol (0.2 mmol / L), lowering LDL cholesterol (0.17 mmol / L).
Research results show that participants consuming flavanols reduced the risk of heart disease by 22% and the risk of heart attack by 31%.
It has been shown that flavanols alleviate changes in blood vessels, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in healthy people. Professor Kelm said that the figures from that study showed that flavanols have great potential for preventing cardiovascular disease. Other long-term studies, such as the addition of cocoa to a five-day daily drink for 18,000 people, are currently underway to further predict the potential of cocoa's flavanols that have such an even better effect on health. human.
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