Benefits of Drinking Cocoa

Natural News reports that diabetics who get a regular dose of cocoa have improved blood vessel function and are less likely to get cardiovascular disease. Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that the flavanol compounds in cocoa are responsible for these cardiovascular benefits.

In this study from the Australian International Diabetes Institute, researchers conducted two experiments on volunteers with Type II diabetes. The first experiment measured improvements in blood vessel dilation. Ten volunteers drank a cocoa beverage with either 75, 371, or 963 milligrams (mg) of flavanols. Hours after drinking the cocoa, the volunteers had improved flow-mediated dilation (FMD) (the measure of how well your brachial arteries can relax and dilate). The more flavanols in the cocoa, the better the blood vessel dilation.

In the second experiment, 41 volunteers drank a cocoa beverage three times a day for a month. The cocoa had either 25 or 321 mg of flavanols. The drinks were otherwise very similar in calorie content, nutrient density, and caffeine content. Volunteers who drank the high-flavanol cocoa had 30% better FMD than those who drank the low-flavanol cocoa.

One of the researchers Paul Zimmet said, “While more research is needed, this study shows tremendous potential for future flavanol-based applications.”

This post was originally published as Have Diabetes? Drink Cocoa! by Laurel on Health Food blog.