Flavanols
You may be pleased to hear that some of your favourite foods contain flavanols. Essentially, flavanols are a type of super antioxident that reduces the risk of numerous conditions, such as stroke, heart disease and cancer. Foods containing flavanols include purple grapes, red wine, tea and cocoa. In its purest form, chocolate is one of the richest sources of flavanols and antioxidants. Unfortunately, the chocolate you usually buy from the sweet shop has had most of the flavanols removed because they can have a bitter taste. According to Norman Hollenberg, Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School, a flavanol called epicatechin is important enough to class as a vitamin. It is commonly found in cocoa, tea and wine.1
Research has shown that flavanols increase blood flow to the brain and reduce blood pressure. According to Harold Schmitz, PhD, Chief Science Officer at Mars,
‘Though more research is needed, these findings raise the possibility that flavanol-rich cocoa products could be developed to help slow brain decline in older age…’2
In 1997, a ground-breaking study found that the island-dwelling Kuna Indians of Panama were 1,280 percent less likely to die of heart disease than people on the mainland and 630 percent less likely to die of cancer. Hollenberg showed that their blood pressure did not rise as they grew older and there was hardly any incidence of hypertension. He concluded that these benefits came from the high flavanol cocoa they drank in large quantities. According to Hollenberg,
‘If these observations predict the future, then we can say without blushing that they are among the most important observations in the history of medicine … We all agree that penicillin and anaesthesia are enormously important. But epicatechin could potentially get rid of 4 of the 5 most common diseases in the western world, how important does that make epicatechin? I would say very important.’3
- Possible benefits of Flavanols for stroke
- Arguments against using Flavanols for stroke
- Case histories
- Notes and references
Aviva Cohen is the author and CEO of Neuro Hero