Could Chowing Down on Cocoa Fix Your Heart?

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Flavanols from cocoa have emerged as a superfood for your heart, reducing death from cardiovascular disease as well as the incidence of heart attacks and stroke.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• In the first large-scale trial to evaluate the long-term effects of cocoa flavanols on heart disease, notable benefits were uncovered
• Those who received cocoa flavanols had a 27% reduction in death from cardiovascular disease, and incidence of three cardiovascular events — heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths — was also significantly reduced
• Among those who took the cocoa flavanol supplement regularly, there was a 15% reduction in total cardiovascular events and a 39% reduction in death from cardiovascular disease
• Cocoa flavanols have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity and hypolipidemic effects, with research showing that even short-term consumption of cocoa and dark chocolate may benefit people with heart disease or other metabolic risk factors

Cocoa flavanols may be protective of heart health, even helping to reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. While chowing down on chocolate candy is unlikely to have the same effect, the evidence supporting cocoa’s benefits for heart health only continue to grow.