SLASH your heart-related death risk by 39% (Here’s how!)
How it lowers the risk of dying from heart disease
I’m a results guy.
When it comes to heart health, a good result DOESN’T mean lowering arbitrary measurements like cholesterol numbers.
It means lowering your risk of having a heart attack or of dying from a heart-related event.
Those are REAL results.
That’s why I’m NOT a fan of statins (since they’ve been proven time and again to not have any impact on cardiac mortality).
But I AM a fan of natural supplements. And one in particular could lower your risk of dying from heart disease by as much as 39 percent.
For this randomized, placebo-controlled trial, over 21,000 people took either a cocoa flavanol supplement, a multivitamin, both, or a placebo for three and a half years.
I’ll start by saying that the multivitamin didn’t have an impact on heart risk.
But the cocoa flavanol supplement came through with flying colors. Let’s take a look at the results:
- People taking the supplement were 10 percent less likely to experience a cardiovascular event.
- They were 27 percent less likely to die from a cardiovascular event.
- Their overall heart disease risk dropped by 15 percent.
- They were 39 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.
This isn’t the first study to show the dramatic benefits of cocoa flavanols, either. Previous studies have found that they help lower blood pressure levels—and they have been linked to better brain health.
This study stood out from the rest, though, because it’s the first to show long-term benefits for cardiovascular health.
Now, here’s what this study DOESN’T mean: It DOESN’T mean you should load up on chocolate bars and ice cream.
You couldn’t possibly consume enough of those foods to obtain the amount of cocoa flavanols found in the supplement (not to mention the added sugar, fat, and calories that would certainly cancel out any benefits).
Instead, consider taking a cocoa flavanol supplement (the amount used in this study was 500 mg per day).
Better yet, start eating more healthy foods that contain flavanols, like tea, grapes, and berries.
