Could cocoa help delay high blood pressure? Here's what Brigham and Women's researchers found.

"Centuries after the Mayans and Aztecs first turned to cacao for medicinal use, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital have found promising evidence that cocoa extract could help older adults keep their blood pressure in check. In an article published last month in the scientific journal Hypertension, the researchers reported that in older adults with normal blood pressure, consuming the dietary supplement long term may actually help preserve vascular function and reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure."

""It was interesting nuance in that, if you have low blood pressure and want to keep it there, taking cocoa extract supplements seemed to be a way to do that," explained Dr. Howard Sesso, an author on the paper and one of the principal investigators behind the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study, or COSMOS. But chocoholics beware: While cocoa extract is derived from the cacao bean, the cornerstone ingredient of chocolate, it's a far cry from the confections found in supermarket candy aisles."

""When you're looking at different cocoa or chocolate products on store shelves, you will not see anything listed about its cocoa flavanol content," he noted. "All you'll see is the fat and the calories and other things added to it, which is really kind of getting away from the purpose of looking at cocoa as a potential healthy food option, because you're adding in all the sugar and the fat and the calories.""

Long-term consumption of cocoa extract may help preserve vascular function and reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure in older adults with normal blood pressure. Cocoa extract is derived from the cacao bean and contains flavanols that are linked to cardiovascular benefits. Commercial chocolate products often contain added sugar, fat, and calories and typically do not list cocoa flavanol content, so they may not provide the same benefits as concentrated cocoa extract. Bitterness or dark chocolate labeling does not guarantee high flavanol levels. Observed benefits depend on supplement composition and come with important caveats.

Read at Boston.com