Synthetic Cocoa Flavanols- High Flavanol Cocoa Powder Has A Problem

With the growing popularity of high flavanol cocoa powder as both a health food and an alternative to coffee, it can prove difficult to navigate all the marketing. Which high flavanol cocoa powder is best and why? How many flavanols do I need and why do I need so much? No one asks...why do some brands offer such a high amount of cocoa flavanols and others don't? In particular, one now-prevalent issue that many people don’t even know to be watching out for is the presence of synthetic flavanols or other antioxidants.

How can I be sure this is an issue? Because I receive messages from suppliers in China offering me standardized Epicatechin extract and they're sales pitch is that Amazon brands are already using their epicatechin extract.... personally, I have to wonder, how are these flavanol extracts produced? 

Rather than provide a cacao whose antioxidant content comes entirely organically from its natural cocoa flavanols and anthocyanins, some brands may be supplementing this amount to reach higher targets and stand out in the market. To these brands, it's not about using innovation to preserve naturally occurring flavanols, it's about splicing in extracts to create a marketable product. 

But what are the actual effects of synthetic high flavanol cacao powder versus naturally-occurring ones, and how can you make sure to avoid products that aren’t honest about where their cocoa flavanols are coming from? Read on for an in-depth look at how to ensure you’re only getting the best high flavanol cacao:

In the first place, it’s important to ask why a brand would want to supplement their flavanol content at all. One obvious answer is that flavanol content is one of the main metrics people look to when choosing a brand, and some may feel the need to one-up their competition seeing the large numbers others claim. With many products claiming 900 to 15000 milligrams or more per serving, it’s easy to see how some might consider added flavanols the only way to compete.

But there are practical concerns as well. With many people only looking to high flavanol cacao as a dietary supplement rather than the naturally-occurring superfood it is, some brands may be enticed by eliminating the slight variability present in all organically-grown foods via precision dosing or the promise of increased bioavailability.

This is deception of real vs fake is most prevalent on Amazon. People discover High Flavanol Cocoa Powder through Tik Tok and then they try to get the most flavanols per dollar, without attention to what they're actually eating. Keep in mind, testing has only increased for supplements on Amazon, there have been no increased testing requirements for powders mixed with extract. It is still the wild west. 

To a lot of people who really are not serious about their health, they reduce all products to cost and they commoditize everything with minimal understanding around the nutrients they're trying to absorb and how they should be introducing these foods into their diet.  There is even some evidence that synthetic polyphenols may be useful in increasing a product’s shelf life^[1].

Key Takeaways:

• Brands may use synthetic flavanols to boost flavanol count and marketability without taking proper dosing into account

• Brands may use synthetic flavanols for precision dosing - a standardized, consistent, replicate-able product

• Some research suggests synthetic flavanols could extend shelf life- reducing risk for brands

If the point of added synthetic flavanols is to increase the antioxidant content of the cacao you’re getting, why are they something to watch out for? It is true that most times synthetic flavanols are going to be chemically identical to naturally-occurring ones but there are still some major drawbacks that make fully organic cacao the no-brainer choice.

With all the benefits of cacao flavanols you may have heard of stemming from its high antioxidant capacity, from lowered blood pressure to improved heart health and cognitive function to decreased risk of cancer and diabetes, it’s easy to think that the more antioxidants you consume, the better. And indeed, studies have shown that large amounts of daily cacao flavanols are well-tolerated by the adult human body, even past the point they have much added benefit.^[2] However, this is far from the case when talking about antioxidants which have been synthesized and are found isolated in the foods we eat.

Supplementing with high doses of isolated antioxidants may actually have the exact opposite effect, acting as a pro-oxidizing force to counteract all the health benefits listed before. Flooding your body with antioxidants with no electrons to donate or accept, can propagate longer chains of free radical formations. 

In the short term, and for teaching your body how to adapt, the free radicals that antioxidants combat aren’t always strictly harmful. 

Minor amounts of oxidative stress are, for instance, important for building muscle along with other natural processes in the body, and overdosing on antioxidants can act against this. This burst in oxidation when exercising causes an increase in the upregulation of your endogenous antioxidant defenses (SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase). This is exactly the process you want, because your body will be an adaptive response to this in the future. High, unnaturally occurring antioxidants consumed at the wrong time can blunt this adaptive response in the body. 

This “antioxidant paradox” is where large amounts of isolated compounds can actually overwhelm the body and directly oppose any benefit. Especially when you're Quoting from one 2013 study on the subject, “there is no evidence to date that isolated antioxidants as food supplements improve health outcomes or survival; and some that indicate unacceptable risk.”^[3]

Key Takeaways:

• Synthetic flavanols have the same chemical structure, but don’t act the exact same

• Isolated antioxidants can become pro-oxidants when overconsumed

• Some oxidants are necessary to teach your body adaption

Some polyphenols and flavonoids need dietary fat and bile to form micelles and cross the intestinal wall. So, look around the amazon marketplace at the "High Flavanol Cocoa Powder" options and ask yourself, why would you take a 0-5% fat powder when the polyphenols are more absorbable with fat? A study also points to the fact that the fat will also increase the likelihood of a slower and more sustained uptake of the polyphenols. Now, the cocoa flavanols are not as impacted, but the polyphenols are, and either way the fat may increase the overall exposure as it slows gastric emptying. This means the cocoa flavanols have more time in the gastrointestinal tract to be absorbed.

Now, from here what we can gather is that polyphenols have the least absorbability with no macronutrients at all. The theory being that they move through the digestive tract quickly and they cannot cross the intestinal wall without micelles, coming from bile produced to digest dietary fat. But what is more important than fat for polyphenol and cocoa flavanol absorption? Carbohydrates.

The mechanisms of why carbohydrates are effective in helping the cocoa flavanol and polyphenol absorption is explained here:

1. The gut lumen showed improved solubility and stability

2. Uptake into the small intestine is better with modulation of gastric emptying

3. Metabolic enzymes and transporters that handle polyphenol conjugation and absorption are effected. 

Key Takeaways:

• Cocoa Flavanols are not as effected as Polyphenols when it comes to needing a macronutrient for optimal absorption

• Polyphenols isolated are less absorbable because they are lipo-soluble. Same idea as eating specific vitamins with food.

• Protein may bind onto specific polyphenols and cocoa flavanols, hindering them useless. Fat and carbohydrates are necessary in optimizing for polyphenol and flavanol absorption.

With the possibility of brands using ineffective synthetic flavanols as opposed to naturally-occurring, how can you make sure the cacao you're buying is, you know, real? 

There are a couple easy things you can do to keep brands accountable. One potentially obvious one is to message the brand and ask them about the product. How do they achieve higher than normal flavanols? It should be an easy question to answer if they're the manufacturer. If you see a product listed as containing cocoa extract, you can be sure they're marketing a science experiment.

Another way to keep your diet free of artificial antioxidants when shopping for high flavanol cocoa powder is to generally steer toward whole foods and stop price shopping on amazon and looking through AI slop photos. Cocoa flavanols that are naturally occurring and intact with the original plant are likely to go a lot further in your body. Going for products like raw cacao nibs is another great way to ensure you’re only getting good nutrients directly from the plant itself.

Key Takeaways:

• Check if the brand uses an extract or a whole bean powder

• Consider products like raw cacao nibs to ensure organic flavanols, that is the least processed version of cacao, with naturally occurring flavanols

Sources:

[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8698762/

[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26537937/

[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23635359/

https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article-abstract/72/7/429/1825007?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12798412/

https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/72/7/429/1825007?login=true

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10135064/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4728631/

Writer / Researcher: Trey Norbey