Cacao is full of healthy compounds and extremely rich in healthy flavanols. It literally protects our heart and blood vessels and is advised in a healthy diet.
A recent study found that during mental stress, the blood vessels of the studied group functioned better with a flavanol-rich cacao drink. How cool is that! Can you imagine drinking cacao and being put under stress for the sake of science? Or more challenging if you have to go through that without a cacao drink! 😅
Within our blood vessels there is a thin layer that helps to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, kidney failure, tumour growth, thrombosis, and severe viral infectious diseases. Mental stress has a negative effect on this layer.
Cacao is the most flavanol-rich food and improves your vascular function. If you're vulnerable to stress the study also recommends to eat apples, black grapes, blackberries, cherries, raspberries, pears and pulses.
So we can say that cacao is not only heart-opening, but also heart-protecting!