Novel Insights into the Heart Health Benefits of Cocoa Flavanols and Procyanidins (IMAGE)
Caption
In a month-long randomized and double-blinded study, 45 healthy male adults were divided into three groups taking different amounts of flavanols and procyanidins to determine the effect of each on a range of cardiovascular endpoints. One group of participants consumed a cocoa extract containing 130 mg of a flavanol called (−)-epicatechin (pronounced "minus epicatechin") as well as 560 mg of procyanidins. The second group took cocoa extract capsules delivering a nearly equivalent amount of procyanidins (540 mg), but only 20 mg of (−)-epicatechin. The third group took placebo capsules that were free of both flavanols and procyanidins, but otherwise nutritionally matched to the capsules consumed by the other two groups. Importantly, all capsules were matched for their methylxanthine (caffeine and theobromine) amounts.
Credit
Mars, Incorporated
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