CocoaVia for potent cocoa flavanols

12.26..28: health/cv (CocoaVia)
CocoaVia 250mg cocoa flavanols
enhancing circulation and brain function
sometimes ... .
Cocoavia's got sure levels of flavanols:

. the Mars process known as Cocoapro®,
ensures the cocoa flavanols are preserved;
whereas, traditional cocoa processing
has inactivated much of these flavanols .

improves mild cognitive impairment:

The study, published in hypertension 2012; 60: 794
involved 90 people over age 65
with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
The flavonoid-rich cocoa, supplied by Mars,
was processed to retain more of these compounds.
(Mars also funded the study,
and one author worked for the company).
After eight weeks, the high-flavanol group
did better on a series of memory,
verbal fluency and other cognition tests,
followed by the intermediate-flavanol group.
Their blood pressure, blood sugar control
and oxidative stress levels also improved.
Though flavonoids may have direct effects on neurons
and neurodegenerative processes,
the researchers concluded that the cognitive benefits
were related primarily to better insulin sensitivity,
which affects blood sugar control
as well as brain function.
But the benefits may also derive from
the cocoa's effects on cardiovascular health in general
—and blood pressure and blood flow in particular—
since so much of what’s good for the heart
is also good for the brain .

cocoa is rich in (-)Epicatechin:
2006, PNAS 103(4):1024.

Endothelial dysfunction, a prognostically relevant
key event in atherosclerosis,
is characterized by a decreased bioactivity of
nitric oxide (NO)
and impaired flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD).
We show in healthy male adults
that the ingestion of flavanol-rich cocoa
was associated with acute elevations in
levels of circulating NO species,
an enhanced FMD response of conduit arteries,
and an augmented microcirculation.
. (-)-epicatechin and its metabolite,
epicatechin-7-O-glucuronide,
are independent predictors of the vascular effects
seen after flavanol-rich cocoa ingestion.
. the ingestion of the flavanol (-)-epicatechin
is, at least in part, causally linked to
the reported vascular effects observed after
the consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa.

endothelial function improved in healthy elders:
J Hypertension 2006:

. Four to six days of flavanol-rich cocoa
induced peripheral vasodilation,
improving endothelial function via a
nitric oxide (NO)-dependent mechanism
even more so in subjects aged greater than 50 .

not all endothelial function is improved:
Am J Clin Nutr December 2008:

Daily consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa for 2 wk
is not sufficient to reduce blood pressure
or improve insulin resistance
in human subjects with essential hypertension.
. during the treatment phases of the study,
31g of CocoaPro was used twice daily
( Mars Incorporated, Hackettstown, NJ)
mixed in 150 mL warm water .

the effects depend on nitric oxide?

. Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is defined as
normal serum free T4 and free T3 levels
and increased serum TSH levels.
. SH accelerates endothelial dysfunction;
it is associated with chronic inflammation
(C reactive protein)
and simultaneously reduces the bioavailability of
nitric oxide to blood vessels;
SH increases the expression of angiotensin receptor,
that causes blood vessels to contract,
thereby increasing the pressure within the vessels .

. hypothyroidism or thyroid resistance
are becoming increasingly common,
due to modern lifestyles changes .

other cocoavia studies:

improves endothelial function in healthy adults. 
J Am Col Nutr 2004, 23(3):197-204.

induces nitric oxide-dependent vasodilation:
2003, J Hypertension 21:1.

In healthy humans,
flavanol-rich cocoa induced vasodilation
via activation of the nitric oxide system .

Norman K. Hollenberg, MD, PhD, 
of Harvard Medical School and
Brigham and Women’s Hospital:

. the same mechanism resulting in
improved blood vessel function
observed following consumption of CocoaVia
could also be responsible for the enhanced
brain blood flow reported previously .
. these improvements in blood vessel function
following flavanol rich cocoa consumption
are paralleled by an increase in the
circulating pool of nitric oxide,
that helps dilate blood vessels
and keeps them pliable.

see:
Bayard V, Chamorro F, Motta J, Hollenberg NK.
Does flavanol intake influence mortality 
from nitric oxide-dependent processes? 
Ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus,
and cancer in Panama. 
International Journal of Medical Sciences. 2007;4:53-58.

more research at healthycocoa .