Over the past couple decades, many studies into the health effects of cocoa flavanols and organic high flavanol cocoa have consistently shown their potential as powerful dietary supplements. From more overarching benefits stemming from their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to specific ways they can help improve cognitive, cardiovascular, and skin health while also helping reduce the risk of several types of disease, regular intake of high flavanol cocoa can be a crucial step when working toward a better diet.
As someone who is looking to make high flavanol cocoa a regular part of their diet, however, it may not be instantly obvious which of the products currently on the market is the best to choose from, whether in general or for your individual health goals. High flavanol cocoa is sold in different forms ranging from powder to capsules, and different brands advertise different purported benefits while also listing different ingredient amounts. So which high flavanol cocoa product is best for you? Read on for a more comprehensive breakdown:
Table of contents
Flavanol Content
When determining which high flavanol cocoa brand or product is best, flavanol content itself is an obvious metric to consider. Most cocoa brands you’ll see advertised as “high flavanol” will have at least 500 mg of flavanols per serving, with some upping their dosage into the 900s or even the low thousands for some specialty products. Brands like Bryan Johnson advertise over 400 mg per serving while others like CocoaVia have 500 and 750 mg varieties, but competitors FlavaMix and Vital Purple do better than both at 900 mg.
Though adults can safely consume up to 2,000 mg of flavanols a day, 500-1,000 mg has been cited as the most effective amount for areas such as cardiovascular risk and blood pressure, and around 1,000 mg has been where significant cognitive health results have been seen. With a dosage near the high end of these ranges, Vital Purple scores the best for maximizing all of high flavanol cocoa’s benefits.
Key Takeaways:
Most high flavanol cocoa brands offer 500-1,000 mg per serving
Research identifies 500-1,000 mg as the optimal range for high flavanol cocoa health benefits
Vital Purple scores among the best on the market for flavanol content with 900 mg per serving
Processing Methods
Perhaps the biggest difference between commercial-grade cocoa or chocolate and high flavanol cocoa has to do with how the product is processed, with this being an area just as important to consider as flavanol content itself when deciding which brand to go with. Where commercial-grade cocoa is typically alkalized and high-temperature roasted, resulting in the loss of most of its natural flavanols and its cocoa butter, organic high flavanol cocoa is minimally processed to avoid removing these vital nutrients. For this reason, it’s crucial to know how the high flavanol cocoa you’re buying was prepared in order to determine which is best from a health and nutrition perspective.
Looking at the same set of brands as before, all of them claim to use minimal processing methods, most of which involve gentler or more careful fermentation and roasting of the cacao plant meant to preserve flavanols and other related nutrients. Vital Purple, however, is the only one whose method involves no roasting or fermentation, preserving the potency of the cocoa flavanols as much as possible in the process. Though FlavaMix and CocoaVia are still able to deliver a high flavanol dosage with their methods, it’s clear that Vital Purple’s organic, raw cacao based offerings are superior in this respect.
Key Takeaways:
Commercial cocoa loses vital nutrients through steps in processing such as roasting and fermentation
Competing High Flavanol Cocoa brands still roast and ferment their high flavanol cocoa products
Vital Purple is the only raw, unfermented cocoa product on the market and retains more nutrients
High Flavanol Cocoa Micronutrients and Testing
Other areas related to processing that are important to look toward when choosing a high flavanol cocoa brand are the micronutrients they claim to provide and the testing done to verify the integrity of their products. Vital Purple performs well by these metrics as well, touting micronutrients such as magnesium, theobromine, anthocyanins, anandamide, PEA and essential fatty acids among others. While the benefits of cocoa flavanols themselves are numerous, Vital Purple is packed with these other compounds that also help to boost mood, promote muscle and bone health, and strengthen the immune system.
In terms of testing, Vital Purple High Flavanol Cocoa retains its advantage over competing brands too. Where most high flavanol cocoa products focus their testing on the flavanol content and the research that supports their health effects, Vital Purple remains committed to additional testing for heavy metals and other flavonoids such as Anthocyanins as well. Showing cadmium levels over five times lower than the industry standard for commercial-grade cocoa and much higher antioxidant content, Vital Purple is able to claim a wider array of health benefits than any other major competing brand. This also allows Vital Purple to be the most transparent high flavanol cocoa brand on the market in terms of its products’ contents, another very important factor to consider.
Key Takeaways:
Vital Purple High Flavanol Cocoa Energy Nibs contains many other micronutrients such as Anthocyanins, Magnesium, and PEA in addition to cocoa flavanols
Competing brands focus testing on flavanol content and health research
Vital Purple additionally tests low in heavy metals
Phillip McCauley
Phillip McCauley is the owner of Natural Zing and Vital Purple at TheOrganicCacao.com.
Writer / Researcher: Trey Norbey
