Flavanols in cocoa could stave off cardiovascular disease, something that affects almost 78 million baby-boomers in the US alone, according to a paper in the August issue of the Journal of Hypertension.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston discovered that drinking a standardized flavanol-rich cocoa beverage improved several measures of blood vessel function, especially among older study participants. So, that relaxing chocolate drink at bed-time could be doing a lot of good. Flavanols purportedly improve blood flow and reduce damaging clot formation.
Interestingly, the research was sponsored by chocolate manufacturer Mars.
Read into that what you will.