British Scientists Reveal an Interesting Way to Mitigate the Negative Effects of High-Fat Meals
A study from the University of Birmingham (UK) indicates that consuming a delicious beverage rich in bioactive flavonoids can enhance vascular function and maintain cardiovascular health during stressful periods, even after high-fat meals.
According to SciTech Daily, high-fat foods can weaken vascular function and reduce the amount of oxygen supplied to the brain.
Consuming a lot of foods in this category can have both immediate and long-term consequences for the body, increasing the risk of life-threatening cardiovascular issues, including events like strokes and heart attacks.
Cocoa can help reduce the harmful effects of high-fat meals.
Additionally, the cardiovascular system is negatively impacted when individuals undergo stressful periods.
Ironically, during times of stress, people often turn to high-fat foods, leading to compounded harm.
In a study published in the journal Food & Function, the authors reported that they selected a group of healthy young volunteers.
They were given a high-fat breakfast consisting of buttery croissants, salted butter, cheese, and whole milk.
Some participants were served a cup of cocoa made with 12 grams of pure cocoa and 250 ml of milk; while others were given a cocoa drink that had been processed to have lower flavonoid content for comparison.
During an 8-minute rest period and an 8-minute IQ math test, the volunteers had their blood flow in the forearm, cardiovascular activity, and levels of oxygenation in the frontal cortex measured, along with other vascular function tests.
The results showed that drinking the pure cocoa beverage helped participants perform better on the tests and achieve better cardiovascular indicators compared to the control group.
The benefits come from flavonoids, a group of powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. Cocoa is one of the richest sources of flavonoids. Tea, berries, apples, and some other fruits also contain this bioactive compound.
There is an additional benefit: Cocoa itself is a beverage that many previous studies have shown to help reduce stress and lower the risk of depression.
Therefore, it can be said that drinking cocoa during stressful times allows you to “kill two birds with one stone.” Of course, to truly benefit, it’s essential to resist the temptation to indulge in overly fatty foods.
