Happy Halloween!
If you’re like many Americans, you’ve stocked up on sugary candies in anticipation of tonight’s (and even this weekend’s) festivities.
But if you’re faced with mounds of leftover candy, here’s some encouragement to step away from the milk chocolate loaded with added ingredients…
And reach towards some pure, unadulterated dark cocoa.
Major heart protection
According to the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS), cocoa flavanols might protect against heart disease—the world’s leading cause of death.
In this study, over 21,000 adults 60 and older were followed for nearly four years.
During that time, participants were randomly assigned to take 500 mg of cocoa flavanols and a multivitamin daily, or a placebo.
Researchers were looking to see if the cocoa group saw an improvement against cardiovascular disease or cancer.
It turns out, supplementing with cocoa flavanols was associated with a 10 percent lower rate of total cardiovascular events, including heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and more.
Not to mention, another analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition found that cocoa flavanols could be a viable alternative treatment for high blood pressure (BP)!
In a small, double-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT), young volunteers who supplemented with cocoa flavanols saw nearly a 1.5-point improvement in their systolic BP (the top number).
And before you shrug off that 1.5 drop—or the 10 percent difference mentioned above—even “small” improvements offer BIG benefits.
In fact, the authors of the RCT concluded that the effects of cocoa flavanols are similar to those achieved by standard antihypertensive medications in clinical trials!
Pure and simple
Before you start drooling over the fact that I’m reporting on the health benefits of chocolate…
Keep in mind, the chocolate most of us know—and what the little Trick-or-Treaters crave—is NOT a reliable source of flavanols.
That’s because the health-promoting flavanols get destroyed during the processing of many types of popular chocolate bars.
Instead, choose 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 once it’s fully combined, remove it from the heat and add just enough stevia or lo han to cut the bitterness. Drink it hot or cold—whichever you prefer.
Do you have a favorite dark cocoa recipe? Email me at [email protected] or leave me a comment on Facebook—I’d love to hear how YOU enjoy this special treat.
And finally, for more tips on safeguarding your heart against America’s top killers, like heart disease and high blood pressure, check out my Ultimate Heart-Protection Protocol. Click here now!
Sources:
“COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study.” COSMOS Trial, accessed on 10/10/2024. (cosmostrial.org/)
“Assessing Variability in Vascular Response to Cocoa With Personal Devices: A Series of Double-Blind Randomized Crossover n-of-1 Trials.” Frontiers in Nutrition, 06/13/2022. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9234529/)