BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If you spend long hours glued to your desk, there’s a bit of good news brewing in the lab. Specifically, in a cup of cocoa. A new study from researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK suggests that flavanols, plant compounds found in cocoa, could help prevent the damaging effects of too much sitting on blood vessels. It’s long been said that sitting is the new smoking. And with modern work and streaming habits keeping us in our chairs for much of the day, the health implications are stacking up. Research shows that every two-hour stretch spent sitting and watching TV raises the risk of obesity by 23 percent and diabetes by 14 percent. Another study links each additional hour of sitting to a 33 percent higher risk of sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Add in the neck, shoulder, and lower back pain that come with all that sitting, and the case against the chair grows strong. Why cocoa caught scientists’ attention The vascular system is one of the first parts of the body to suffer when we sit for too long. Reduced blood flow and arterial function can set the stage for cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes. Previous studies hinted that flavanols, which are naturally occurring compounds in foods like cocoa, tea, and berries, may offer protective effects for the heart. The Birmingham team decided to test whether these benefits could hold up even during long periods of sitting. They recruited 40 healthy men aged eighteen to forty-five and divided them into groups based on fitness level. Half were given a high-flavanol cocoa drink containing 695 milligrams of flavanols, while the other half received a low-flavanol version with just 5.6 milligrams. Then came the hard part: sitting still for two hours. Flavanols for the win The researchers measured vascular function in the participants’ arms and legs using a technique called brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD), which assesses how well blood vessels relax and expand. The results were striking. In both the high-fit and low-fit groups, those who drank the high-flavanol cocoa showed no decline in arterial function after sitting. In contrast, those who drank the low-flavanol version had reduced blood flow, higher diastolic blood pressure, and lower muscle oxygenation. “Our experiment indicates that higher fitness levels do not prevent the temporary impairment of vascular function induced by sitting when only drinking low-flavanol cocoa,” said study co-author Sam Lucas. “Importantly, after the high-flavanol drink, both fitter and less-fit participants kept their FMD the same as it was before sitting for two hours.” This finding makes the study a first of its kind, showing that flavanol intake can protect blood vessels from the effects of prolonged sitting, regardless of baseline fitness. Beyond the chocolate bar If cocoa isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry. Study co-author Alessio Daniele points out that flavanols are also found in apples, plums, berries, nuts, green and black tea, red wine, kale, tomatoes, and peaches. The goal isn’t to binge on chocolate bars but to integrate more flavanol-rich foods into your diet for everyday cardiovascular protection. “Given how common sedentary lifestyles have become and the increased risk this can have to vascular health, using flavanol-rich food and drink—especially in combination with breaking up periods of inactivity by going for a short walk or standing up—could be a good way to enhance long-term health, no matter the individual’s fitness level,” added co-author Catarina Rendeiro. The research, published in the Journal of Physiology, adds a sweet twist to an old message: movement matters, but a little flavanol boost might help take the edge off our increasingly sedentary lives. Source study: Journal of Physiology— Dietary flavanols preserve upper- and lower-limb endothelial function during sitting in high- and low-fit young healthy malesThe post Too much sitting? Cocoa might be your sweetest health hack yet first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.