A new research study published in the journal Heart reveals that polyphenols, the active ingredients in cocoa beans and which forms the basis of chocolates, may lower cardiovascular risks in people who consume chocolates and other cocoa products.
This new study gives the nod for chocolate lovers to continue with hot cups of the brewed product because of the health benefits associated with it, and this means there is something good after with chocolate, or rather cocoa consumption apart from the flavor on the palates.
Researchers say polyphenols are the main compounds in cocoa beans that lowers the risks of strokes and cardiovascular events; and according to Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, “What we’re learning is that polyphenols…seem to improve the health of our blood vessels.”
The researchers tracked 20,000 people over 12 years and monitored their rates and frequency of consuming chocolate to determine the health benefits they derived from the products.
Howard LeWine of the Harvard Health Blog reported that, “Among those in the top tier of chocolate consumption, 12 percent developed or died of cardiovascular disease during the study, compared to 17.4 percent of those who didn’t eat chocolate.”
While many others tout the health benefits of consuming cocoa or cocoa products, Jo Ann Manson of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, stated that the cause-and-effect between cocoa and lower heart disease incidents needs more study for complete verifications.
To really do this, Manson suggests that the fats, calories, milk, and sugar from chocolates be stripped away so as to remain the main cocoa compounds, and for this to be made into pills or capsules for human use; only then would people be able to measure the direct links between cocoa and health benefits.