Baby-boomers may benefit most from flavanol-rich cocoa

Baby-boomers may benefit most from flavanol-rich cocoa

By Stephen Daniells


03/08/2006 - The heart health of the baby-boom generation could benefit from flavanol-rich cocoa, reports a study co-funded by Mars, but independent experts warn against confusion with commercial chocolate snacks.

The results suggest that specialty flavanol-rich cocoa products could be increasingly targeted at the ‘baby boomers' (people born between 1946 and 1964), an age-group that forms the biggest age-bracket of the population in both the US and Europe.

Of particular concern to ageing populations is cardiovascular disease, which accounts for over 50 per cent of all deaths in Europe annually.

“Ageing is typically associated with deterioration in vessel health, specifically related to function of the critical inner lining, or endothelium,” explained co-author Naomi Fisher, MD, from Harvard Medical School. “Our findings demonstrate that consumption of this flavanol-rich cocoa can improve the function of blood vessels in a healthy elderly population.”

Fisher and her co-researcher, Norman Hollenberg, tested the hypothesis that the cardiovascular response to cocoa flavanols occurred vie a mechanism involving activation of nitric oxide (NO) production by the enzyme, nitric oxide synthase (NOS). NO has been shown to act upon smooth muscle in blood vessels and increase blood flow (vasodilation).

For the complete article on this, go to: http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=69613-mars-cocoa-flavanol-heart-health


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