Answer Questions About Cocoa for Heart Health or Cognition

Celebration of Chocolate Month will bring up questions about whether cocoa is beneficial for heart health, cognitive function, or other uses.

Cocoa beans are a source of natural antioxidants called flavanols. Clarify that the higher the percent cocoa in a product or supplement...or the darker the chocolate...the more flavanols it contains.

Effectiveness. Explain that cocoa is possibly effective for preventing CV disease. Evidence in adults without CV disease shows that taking a cocoa extract containing 500 mg of flavanols daily for about 3.5 years lowers the risk of CV death...but not MI or stoke...versus placebo.