Forget death by chocolate.
New research suggests cocoa extract supplements might actually help you live longer by slowing down the inflammation that accelerates aging.
Better yet, they may also lower the risk of dying from heart disease — the top killer nationwide.
“This study calls for more attention to the advantage of plant-based foods for cardiovascular health, including cocoa products rich in flavanols,” Dr. Howard Sesso, corresponding author of the study, said in a statement.
“It reinforces the importance of a diverse, colorful, plant-based diet — especially in the context of inflammation,” he continued.
Past studies have found that cocoa extract can reduce inflammatory markers in the body, largely thanks to its high flavanol content.
These natural compounds — also found in fruits, vegetables and tea — are known for their antioxidant properties. They’ve been shown to reduce inflammation, prevent blood clots and improve blood vessel function.
To better understand the connection, Brigham and Women’s Hospital launched the COSMOS trial.
The long-term study explores how cocoa extract affects heart health and fights “inflammaging” — the chronic low-grade inflammation that hastens aging and raises the risk of chronic disease.
“We appreciate the important overlap between healthy aging and cardiovascular health, where aging-related inflammation can harden arteries and lead to cardiovascular disease,” said Sesso, the associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“Because of that, we wanted to see whether multi-year cocoa extract supplementation versus a placebo could modulate inflammaging — and the data suggests it does.”
Sesso and his team analyzed blood samples from 598 COSMOS participants aged 60 and older who were taking cocoa extract supplements.
Over a two-year follow-up period, they tracked changes in several inflammaging biomarkers, including three pro-inflammatory proteins, one anti-inflammatory protein and one immune-mediating protein.
By the end of the study, the scientists found that levels of one pro-inflammatory protein tied to higher heart disease risk — called hsCRP — dropped by 8.4% each year in those taking cocoa supplements compared to a placebo group.
The other markers mostly stayed steady or rose slightly.
That drop in hsCRP could explain the heart-protective effects seen in the larger COSMOS trial, in which people taking cocoa extract had a 27% lower chance of dying from cardiovascular disease, researchers said.
That’s huge. In the US, a person dies from heart disease every 34 seconds. In 2023, the condition accounted for 1 in 3 deaths across the country, according to the CDC.
“Interestingly, we also observed an increase in interferon-γ, an immune-related cytokine, which opens new questions for future research,” said Dr. Yanbin Dong, senior author of the study.
These small proteins play a key role in regulating immune responses and inflammation — both of which contribute to the aging process.
Other inflammaging markers, including a slight decrease in the pro-inflammatory protein IL-6 in women but not men, also caught researchers’ attention for further study.
The team plans to continue analyzing COSMOS data to see if a cocoa extract regimen can curb more severe inflammaging and other aging-related health issues.
“While cocoa extract is not a replacement for a healthy lifestyle, these results are encouraging and highlight its potential role in modulating inflammation as we age,” said Dong, director of the Georgia Prevention Institute.
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