Cocoa flavanols, compounds derived from the cacao bean used to make chocolate, have been shown to increase blood vessel flexibility in healthy individuals. (You can read more about that here.) These may be found in certain chocolates but are more reliably delivered in high-flavanol cocoa.
A new study shows that people with kidney failure get the same benefits from these plant-based compounds. People with poor kidney function are at high risk of dying from cardiovascular complications.
High-Flavanol Cocoa Compared to Flavanol-Free Chocolate-Flavored Drink:
In this study, 57 people on dialysis were randomized to drink a high-flavanol cocoa beverage every day for a month or a placebo that was free of flavanols but otherwise similar to the cocoa.
Those consuming the high-flavanol cocoa had lower blood pressure at the end of the month. Measurements showed their blood vessels were also more flexible. Those consuming the flavanol-free control beverage did not experience those changes.
High-Flavanol Cocoa or a Statin?
The lead researcher noted that drinking a high-flavanol beverage was approximately as effective as taking a statin drug in the benefits the patients experienced. Mars Symbioscience provided the cocoa flavanol and flavanol-free test beverages.
Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, online Dec. 17, 2015
Although cocoa flavanols have been shown to reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Nov. 18, 2015), a recent study found that those with normal blood pressure do not experience an uncomfortable drop in their blood pressure reading even at high doses of cocoa flavanols (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dec., 2015). A previous study had found that a combination of high-flavanol cocoa and naturally nitrate-rich foods such as beets or spinach improved blood vessel flexibility and lowered blood pressure even more than either intervention alone (Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Mar., 2015).
Cocoa Flavanols Raise Helpful HDL Cholesterol:
As with people suffering from kidney disease, those with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of heart disease and its complications. Another study found that high-flavanol cocoa consumption improved the levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol after people with type 2 diabetes ate a less-than-optimal fast-food breakfast (Journal of Nutrition, Oct., 2015). We can only imagine the benefits people might experience if they paired high-flavanol cocoa with healthful food choices.
