CHOCOLATE protects against leading cause of death?  

Did you know chocolate may actually be good for you? Well, not chocolate with all the added sugar and wax, produced by most commercial brands.

I’m talking about pure, unadulterated, dark cocoa.

This type of chocolate contains antioxidants and flavanols that host many health benefits.

In fact, pure cocoa has been used for thousands of years as medicine.

And according to a recent study, it can be used to protect against the world’s leading cause of death.

Let me explain.

Cocoa’s powerful flavanols

This latest research comes from the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS).

Over 21,000 adults over the age of 60 participated and were tracked for nearly four years.

Participants were randomly assigned to receive treatment or a placebo. Treatment included a supplement containing 500mg/day of cocoa flavanols and a typical multivitamin, to see if either could prevent cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Unfortunately, the cocoa extract had no significant effect on cancer or cancer-related deaths.

But over the course of the study, researchers found cocoa flavanol supplementation was associated with a 10 percent lower rate of total cardiovascular events—including cardiovascular disease (CVD) death, myocardial infraction, revascularization, stroke, and unstable angina.

The research team isn’t calling this “statistically significant.” However, I’ll gladly take that 10 percent!

Not to mention, in additional analysis, researchers discovered an even better outcome…

They found cocoa extract supplementation reduced CVD deaths by 27 percent.

These powerful flavanols also significantly reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events by 16 percent compared to placebo.

How to incorporate cocoa in your diet  

Since this is a nutritional supplement—not a drug with the potential to make Big
Pharma big bucks—the response from the medical community has been an unsurprising, “we can’t recommend it just yet.”

But if Big Pharma devised something this good for your heart… it would be pumped into the water supply so fast your head would spin.

So, let me be clear: We now know that cocoa’s potential health benefits are derived from its flavanol and procyanidin content.

Now, before you start drooling over the fact that I’ve said chocolate is good for you, let me restate one caveat…

Chocolate, as most of us know it, is nota reliable source of flavanols. That’s because those flavanols get destroyed during the processing of many types of popular bars.

So, here’s what I recommend…

Stick with the purest cocoa product you can find, bar or powder. And remember, the darker, the better. (I always recommend 100 percent cocoa, but look for at least 85 percent.)

Then, mix it up on the stovetop with some water or unsweetened almond or coconut milk. Heat it up, and then once it’s fully combined, remove it from the heat and add just enough stevia or lo han to cut the bitterness. And you’re good to go! Drink it hot or cold—whichever you prefer.

Just keep in mind that chocolate is good for the occasional treat. Don’t overindulge.

You can learn about additional natural ways to help prevent and reverse America’s biggest killers—high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke—in my Ultimate Heart Protection Protocol. To learn more, or to enroll today, click here.

Until next time,
Dr. Fred

Source:
“COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study.” (cosmostrial.org/)