Flanovols-Rich Cocoa For Diabetes Blood Vessel Function

Filed in archive Diet , Notable , Research on May 27, 2008

According to the results of a new German study, three mugs of specially formulated cocoa a day for a month resulted to normal function of severely impaired arteries in diabetes patients.


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The flavonols in cocoa is suspected to be the responsible for such benefits as featured in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology:

People with diabetes are at greater risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart disease and strokes, partly due to the effects of high blood sugar on the linings of blood vessels, which stops them being able to expand as much when needed by the body.

Cocoa naturally contains "flavanols", antioxidant chemicals which are also found in some fruit and vegetables, green tea and red wine, and has been linked with health benefits by other studies.

A WARNING: The flavonol-enriched cocoa used in this study cannot be found in any shop in the market. This study isn't about chocolate either, but about flavonols, as what is emphasized by the study authors.

According to Dr Malte Kelm, from the University Hospital in Aachen:

The flavanols could be working by increasing the production of nitric oxide, a body chemical which tells arteries to relax and widen.

Patients with type II diabetes can certainly find ways to fit chocolate into a healthy lifestyle, but this study is not about chocolate, or about urging those with diabetes to eat more chocolate.

Our results demonstrate that dietary flavanols might have an important impact as part of a healthy diet in the prevention of cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients."

Hmmm....then why use cocoa as a medium for such flavonols if this study isn't urging diabetics to eat chocolate? Or maybe they want to come up with diabetes-friendly-flavonol-rich chocolates?! That isn't really new, is it?

Source: BBC Heath News