Slash Your Risk of Heart Disease Death by 27%
Taking steps to boost your heart health doesn’t have to mean eating like a rabbit or running like a hamster.
You can experience fantastic heart health by doing—and eating—what you love.
One fun ingredient in particular has been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk by 27 percent, especially in those over 60.
For this study, 21,000 adults over 60 years old took either 500 mg of cocoa flavanols daily or a placebo.
After following the participants for 3.5 years, researchers found that taking the cocoa flavanols reduced the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 27 percent!
And that was with no other dietary or exercise changes.
While other studies have demonstrated similar benefits when it comes to cocoa flavanols—like reducing blood pressure and inflammation—this was the first “gold-standard” study to do so (large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled).
This means that it’s a stronger study with more accurate results.
A secondary analysis of the results showed that the cocoa flavanols produced a 15 percent reduction in cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke.
But here’s what this DOESN’T mean: You can’t eat a Hershey’s bar and boost your heart health.
(Sorry!)
Not only does processed chocolate have too much sugar, but they also have too little flavanols to get these kinds of results.
Instead, consider taking a cocoa flavanol supplement. Keep in mind that the benefits seen in this study were at 500 mg per day.
In addition, flavanols are found in foods like blueberries, green tea, and nuts.
P.S. Believe it or not, chocolate – specifically cocoa powder and dark chocolate – contain a bioactive compound called cocoa flavanols that make exercise easy. Read about them, right here.
