THE FUSE

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On a frigid night, sometimes a warm mug of hot chocolate is just what you need. (I’ve recently been adding Earl Grey tea to mine for a major flavor boost!) But will it do more than soothe your soul and tastebuds? A recent study seems to suggest as much.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham recently conducted a study that suggested that consuming cocoa may reduce the impacts of prolonged sitting on cardiovascular health. This seems promising, but is it too good to be true?

If you’re one of many people that work on their computers, you could be sitting upwards of 6 to 8 hours a day. That sedentary lifestyle is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and heart attack, since prolonged sitting tends to slow blood flow and temporarily impact how well the body’s blood vessels open up when needed.

So where does cocoa come into play? Well, cocoa, as well as other foods like tea, berries, and apples, have high levels of flavanols in them — which are naturally occurring polyphenols that have been shown to improve vascular health (aka blood flow function). They also support nitric oxide in the body, a key molecule that helps blood vessels relax.

In the study, 40 young men of varying fitness levels drank either a high-flavanol or low-flavanol cocoa drink before an uninterrupted 2-hour sitting session. Scientists found that the men who drank the high-flavanol cocoa had no decline in blood flow in their arm and leg arteries — regardless of fitness level. However, those of both fitness levels who drank the low-flavanol cocoa drink saw declines in their blood flow levels, as well as increases in blood pressure.

So should we all prepare a large mug of hot cocoa before we sit down for work? Not so fast. I asked two experts for their take on the study, and here’s what they had to say.

Vikram Agarwal, MD, specialist in cardiovascular disease at Mount Sinai, thought that the idea of it was “genuinely exciting” and likened drinking the cocoa drink to “giving your internal plumbing a gentle nudge to keep things flowing” in the short term. However, ”it doesn’t mean cocoa will prevent heart disease ten years down the line,” he said.

“Enjoying high-flavanol cocoa — like a good-quality, non-alkalized cocoa powder or a square of very dark chocolate (around 70% or higher) — can be a nice little bonus for vascular health, but it’s not a magic fix or a license to stay parked in a chair all day,” he stated. “The best ‘medicine’ for too much sitting is still the simple stuff: Stand up, stretch, and move regularly; aiming for a few thousand steps spread through the day is a great start, even if you never hit 10,000.” He also noted that the research in this study is around high-flavanol cocoa, and not “sugary, ultra-processed chocolate treats.”

Christina Manian, RDN, MERV, registered dietitian and sustainable nutrition expert, also thought the study was interesting but noted that it was “pretty small” and she’d “like to see more research on this to really buy into the claims.” While the findings are enticing, she also wouldn’t want to “lead readers to believe that they can drink hot cocoa (that’s full of added sugars, detracting from cardiovascular health) to negate sitting for long periods of time.”

Similarly to Dr. Agarwal, Manian also said, “I’d caution against the general notion that eating or drinking something can negate a sedentary lifestyle — it’s still really important for people to prioritize healthy activity and not be sitting for long periods of time for optimal health and chronic disease prevention.”

The takeaway? While enjoying some dark chocolate might provide some short term benefits, ultimately nothing beats good old fashioned movement and exercise.