Aerobic Training
Natural Cocoa Compounds May Boost Blood Flow and Ease Heart Function During Exercise
Important New Research On The Role of Antioxidants, Carotenoids and Phytochemicals On Cardiovascular Health, Energy & Endurance
Consumption of a beverage rich in cocoa flavanols may boost blood flow to the muscles and ease the demands on the heart during exercising, reports a study from Australia.
After exercising, overweight and obese people had blood pressure that was 14 per cent lower following consumption of a high flavanol-containing beverage compared with people consuming a low flavanol-containing beverage, according to findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
"These findings suggest that the consumption of cocoa flavanols could allow for safer and more efficient exercise performance in an at-risk population, essentially placing less stress on the cardiovascular system during exercise," wrote the research team from the University of South Australia.
The study adds to an ever-growing body of science supporting the cardiovascular benefits of consuming cocoa flavanols. Indeed, only last month NutraIngredients reported on another study by the Australian scientists that found Regular consumption of cocoa flavanols may decrease blood pressure in people with mild hypertension, but only at high doses (J. Hypertension, doi:10.1038/jhh.2009.105).
It's Not Chocolate, It's Cocoa... Mars Botanical, the scientific research division of Mars Inc, reports the benefits of the Cocoa bean revolve around the key flavanols (known as flavan-3-ols or catechins), and particularly the monomeric flavanol known as epicatechin. Mars' interest in the active compounds started about 20 years ago when its scientists sought to understand the flavour components of chocolate. The bitter and astringent compounds were isolated, and further study and clinical work showed the health benefits of the monomers and the tannins, srecifically (-) epicatechin.
How The Study Was Conducted... The researchers recruited 21 people with an average BMI of 31.6 kg/m2, and an average age of 54.9, and and asked them to eat a low-flavanol diet throughout the course of the study. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups: One group consumed a single serving of a high-flavanol beverage containing 701 mg of flavanols, and the other group consumed a low-flavanol beverage containing only 22 mg of flavanols. This was followed by a three to seven day washout period before crossing over to the other intervention.
Two hours atfter the flavanol drink, the participants cycled for 10 minutes at 75 per cent of their maximum heart rate. While no differences were observed in the blood pressure pre-execrise, a significant difference was observed in responde to exercise.
The increases in diastolic blood pressure were 68 per cent lower in the high flavanol group, while mean blood pressure was 14 per cent lower.
Furthermore, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a measure of a blood vessel's healthy ability to relax, was increased by 6.1 per cent following consumption of the high flavanol beverage, compared with 3.4 per cent in the low flavanol group, added the researchers.
Furthermore, these improvements in FMD and blood pressure response to exercise add to growing evidence that high flavanol cocoa consumption may benefit individuals with cardiovascular risk factors," they concluded.
"The results of the present study provide further support for consumption of cocoa flavanols to improve FMD, and they provide new evidence that cocoa flavanols can also attenuate the blood pressure responses to exercise," wrote the researchers. "
Source: British Journal of Nutrition Published online "Impact of cocoa flavanol consumption on blood pressure responsiveness to exercise"
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