Cocoa Compounds Boost Blood Flow to Muscles

Studies support the cardiovascular benefits of taking in cocoa flavonols. Narelle M. Berry, from the University of South Australia in Adelaide, and colleagues studied 21 overweight men and women, aged 54 to 59, body mass index of 31 to 36 kilograms per square meter. Each participant was assigned to have single servings of either a high-flavonol (701 milligrams) or a low-flavonol (22 milligrams) cocoa beverage followed by 10 minutes of cycling at 75 percent of age-predicted maximum heart rate. Two hours after the subjects drank the cocoa, the team measured endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilatation, a parameter that can modify blood pressure responsiveness to exercise. In the subjects who had the high-flavonol beverage, blood pressure was 14 percent lower than in those who had the low-flavonol drink. The researchers conclude that “by facilitating vasodilation and attenuating exercise-induced increases in [blood pressure], cocoa flavonols may decrease cardiovascular risk and enhance the cardiovascular benefits of moderate-intensity exercise in at-risk individuals.”`

Berry, N., et al. (2010). Impact of cocoa flavonol consumption on blood pressure responsiveness to exercise. Br J Nutr. In press.

Garlic May Counter
Key Cancer Process

Nitrosation is a cellular process in which substances in foods and water are converted into cancer-causing compounds. Earl H. Harrison, from Ohio State University, and colleagues developed a new urine test that measures compounds related to cancer risk while detecting the levels of N-nitrosoproline and N-acetyl-S-allylcysteine, compounds abundantly present in garlic. The team found that the greater the markers of garlic compounds, the less strongly they found the marker for cancer risk. Writing that “3 to 5 grams of garlic supplements inhibited [Nitrosoproline] NPRO [excretion],” a key marker of nitrosation, the researchers observe that “allyl sulfur compounds found in garlic may inhibit nitrosation in humans.”

Cope, K., et al. (2009). A gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method for the quantitation of N-nitrosoproline and N-acetyl-S-allylcysteine in human urine: Application to a study of the effects of garlic consumption on nitrosation. Anal Biochem. 394(2):243-248.

—Dr. Bob Goldman
www.WorldHealth.net

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