Cocoa Flavanols Help Improve Blood Vessel Function

In that poor blood vessel function is often an early marker of cardiovascular diseases, and most notably coronary artery disease (CAD), Christian Heiss, from University of California/San Francisco (California, USA) enrolled 16 CAD patients, ages 61 to 67 years, in a 30-day study. During the study period, subjects were randomly assigned to receive a twice-daily beverage containing high flavanoid cocoa, or a low-flavanol drink.  Those subjects that consumed the beverage containing high flavanoid cocoa were found to have doubled the number of circulating angiogenic cells (CACs) in the blood.  Separately published studies report that CACs have vessel repair and maintenance functions, which can contribute to healthy blood vessels; as well, a prior study found that increasing levels of CACs have also been associated with a decreased risk of death from cardiovascular diseases.   As a result of the increased number of CACs, blood vessel function improved by 47% in those subjects that consumed the beverage containing high flavanoid cocoa, as compared to those who drank the low-flavanol drink.