In a new study from Liverpool Hope University, researchers found a bioactive compound in cocoa powder and dark chocolate could help middle-aged adults enjoy exercise.
They found that cocoa flavanols contribute to faster oxygen uptake kinetics—with improved blood flow the likely cause.
Cocoa flavanols are found in abundance in cocoa powder, and to a lesser extent in dark chocolate, and can be consumed as a supplement.
Because cocoa flavanols have a ‘vasodilatory’ effect, helping to increase blood flow, they’ve been shown to prevent blood clots and even combat memory decline.
In the study, the team tested the effects of cocoa flavanols when it comes to exercise in a group of sedentary adults aged between 40 and 60 years old.
These people typically engaged in less than two hours of structured exercise training per week.
The team analyzed the potential health benefits of cocoa flavanols, a plant nutrient extracted from cocoa beans.
Over a period of five weeks, prior to consuming the cocoa supplement, the people were tested about their VO2 peak, the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during exercise, as well as power output.
They were then given either a daily 400 mg cocoa flavanol supplement or a placebo over the course of seven days.
And at the end of that week, they got back on the cycle ergometers and took part in a series of step exercise tests.
The key measurement being analyzed was pulmonary VO2 kinetics, the time it takes for oxygen delivery to respond to the demands of exercise. The shorter the response time, the better-equipped someone is to tolerate the given exercise.
The team found that when the people who’d consumed the cocoa flavanols were subjected to ‘moderate’ exercise, the VO2 kinetics time was ‘strongly reduced’ from around 40 seconds to 34 seconds.
This reduction of six seconds is important because it exceeds the minimum physiologically relevant change of around 5 seconds.
The reduction in VO2 observed after cocoa flavanol supplementation in middle-aged individuals reflects a shift toward values typically observed in younger healthy individuals.
The study may have clinical potential in contributing to improved tolerance of daily life activity in middle-aged adults.
Flavonoids aren’t just found in cocoa—they’re also abundant in green tea, fruit and vegetables—and have anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant properties.
The team says it is preferable to take supplements over eating dark chocolate since potential beneficial effects of cocoa flavanols occur during exercise when high doses are consumed—greater than 400 mg flavanols—and because dark chocolate contains fat and sugar that may negate the beneficial potential of any bioactive constituents.
If you care about exercise, please read studies about this simple exercise can strongly benefit people with heart problems and findings of this supplement may reduce muscle soreness after exercise.
For more information about exercise, please see recent studies about this exercise method may boost health in people with type 2 diabetes and results showing that these at-home exercises can help older people boost their immune system and overall health in the age of COVID-19.
The study is published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology. One author of the study is Associate Professor Simon Marwood.
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