Does High Flavanol Cacao Remove Arterial Plaque? Does High Flavanol Cacao Really Work?

For the past couple decades, as high flavanol cacao’s popularity as a health food has grown and grown, many studies have been carried out to support the benefits those who consume it regularly report. Effects like boosted heart health and cognitive function as well as reduced risk of several categories of disease have been consistently identified, leading to a spike in popularity of raw and organic cacao products like those offered at Vital Purple. Yet even with the amount of research that has suggested its effectiveness, it is natural to wonder whether clinical trials will necessarily translate into the specific results you are looking for.

In past articles, we have discussed many of the health results high flavanol cacao can provide, especially those related to cardiovascular health. Dietary cocoa flavanols are well-studied as ways to help lower blood pressure and arterial inflammation while also regulating the dilation of the blood vessels themselves, but what might it do for the arterial plaque that may have already built up? Read on to learn more about whether cacao can affect arterial plaque, and to hear from some of the people who have had personal success adding high flavanol cacao to their daily routine:

Before getting into what effect high flavanol cacao may have on arterial plaque, it is important to discuss exactly how dietary flavanols can have such a pronounced effect on cardiovascular health markers in the first place. With high flavanol cacao being well-known as one of the strongest antioxidant foods out there, it naturally helps protect the cells in your body from damage, leading to a whole host of interconnected health effects. Lowered risk of not just cardiovascular disease but diabetes, cancer, and even age-based cognitive decline can stem from this as well.

How this works specifically is that by neutralizing the free radicals our body attains via digestion, exercise, and environmental factors, antioxidants such as high flavanol cacao prevent cells from undergoing excess oxidative stress. This works to directly combat the root cause of inflammation throughout the body, but especially in blood vessels, allowing for well-regulated blood pressure and dilation in response to exercise or physical strain. With an understanding of what high flavanol cacao can do to boost cardiovascular health, it is easier to see what it can and cannot do about arterial plaque.

Key Takeaways:

• Antioxidant-rich foods like high flavanol cacao can help prevent cardiovascular disease 

• Cocoa Flavanols do this by combating molecules that cause stress and inflammation in the body

• Polyphenols also work against cancer and diabetes risk as well as cognitive decline

Unfortunately, antioxidant-rich foods like high flavanol cacao cannot directly clear the arteries or break up and remove arterial plaque, and the process for doing so usually involves much larger lifestyle changes of diet and exercise rather than simply adding one supplement to your daily routine. What it can do as an antioxidant, however, is keep your cardiovascular system strong in order to prevent plaque buildup in the first place. Along with habits like smoking and lack of exercise, some of the biggest risk factors for arterial plaque buildup are diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, all of which cocoa flavanols can also help prevent.

To support this, a 2012 study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition found that chocolate and cocoa consumption was potentially associated with lower levels of calcified arterial plaque.^[1] Over two thousand participants were surveyed about their diet before having CAC levels measured, and researchers found this correlation remained even when controlling for consumption of other antioxidant-rich foods like red wine or C and E vitamins. Again, this does not mean consuming high flavanol cacao can remove plaque, but rather that those who are in the habit of consuming chocolate and cacao may be at a lower risk of developing it in the first place. 

Well, there is no study with direct causation, but does that mean there is no correlation? If it's been proven that High Flavanol Cocoa Powder has been linked to improvements in Flow Mediated Dilitation, Arterial Flexibility, an increase in Nitric Oxide, and a reduction in oxidative stress, wouldn't these combination of benefits be the underlying factors in assisting the body in removing arterial plaque? Or do we need a study directly proving this. 

Here is what we do know! Cocoa Flavanols have been linked to reducing cholesterol and this general reduction can also pull cholesterol out of plaque deposits- shrinking total plaque size.

There is no direct study with the causation of ingesting High Flavanol Cocoa and reducing arterial plaque, but there are several indirect ways that cocoa flavanols are influencing the end results of arterial plaque reduction. 

Key Takeaways:

• Regular consumption of cocoa flavanols cannot remove plaque or clear arteries

• Cocoa flavanols can help prevent plaque by combating high blood pressure and cholesterol

• Those who consume cacao may be at a lower risk of developing arterial plaque

Maybe high flavanol cacao cannot immediately dissolve plaque but can it prevent it? Aren't preventative supplements that you can easily incorporate into your diet and stay consistent with better than short term pill if you're looking for long term health results?

How can high flavanol cocoa powder prevent arterial plaque?

"After one month, the cocoa drinkers had lower levels of adhesion molecules — proteins that cause white cells and other substances to stick to the walls of the arteries. Adhesion molecules are an inflammatory marker, linked to heart disease because they contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques that can obstruct an artery or rupture, triggering a heart attack or stroke. In addition, cocoa was found to increase “good” HDL cholesterol levels. The study was published in the November 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

How does high flavanol cacao lead to lower the levels of adhesion molecules? This study doesn't say but my theories are in cocoa flavanols' ability to reduce oxidative stress and relax the arterial walls.

The short answer. Yes. There are plenty of studies proving to cocoa flavanols improving LDL Cholesterol, increased circulation, blood oxygenation improvements, and arterial elasticity improvements- all resulting in better cardiovascular health. But everyone is different, and there are several environmental, lifestyle, and diet factors that are going to influence whether you feel the benefits of high flavanol cocoa powder and if you will see any health benefits. 

At Vital Purple we’ve gathered testimony from many people taking high flavanol cacao day to day outside of a clinical environment, and many of them report the same benefits the research predicts. 

Customers using Vital Purple Powerful Cacao Powder as a coffee alternative often focus on the benefits to focus and energy, but others have talked about experiencing effects like lowered blood pressure, cholesterol, and an improvement in energy focus, and even vision. 

Sources:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3005078/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/cocoa-reduces-inflammation-associated-with-heart-disease

Writer/Researcher: Trey Norbey