Overview
- University of Birmingham researchers reported in the Journal of Physiology that a single high-flavanol cocoa drink prevented sitting-related declines in vascular function.
- Forty healthy men consumed either a high-flavanol beverage (695 mg total flavanols) or a low-flavanol control (5.6 mg) before two hours of uninterrupted sitting.
- High-flavanol intake preserved flow-mediated dilation in arm and leg arteries, whereas the low-flavanol groups showed reduced FMD, higher diastolic blood pressure, lower blood flow, and decreased muscle oxygenation.
- Authors cite nitric oxide–mediated vasodilation as the likely mechanism for the short-term protection observed after flavanol consumption.
- The trial included only men and was acute and laboratory-based, with researchers calling for studies in women and longer-term outcomes; flavanols are also found in tea, berries, apples, and some nuts.