Stress causes heart attacks and strokes. Everyone knows it. But did you know that one single episode of high intensity stress can trigger a heart attack or stroke? It’s true.
But here’s great news. You can dramatically reduce your risk. All you have to do is drink a tasty beverage when you’re under stress.
No, it’s not wine.
As you may know, wine is rich in flavanols. And studies have shown time and time again that flavanols are great for protecting your heart and brain.
But wine has a downside. And it’s not just that you can get drunk or develop an addiction if you drink too much. It’s that alcohol actually impairs your brain’s ability to handle stress!
There Has to Be Something Better
And there is. New research shows that there’s another beverage that will protect your heart and brain during stressful times.
In this study, researchers took a group of people and had them complete an 8-minute mental stress task. The researchers measured forearm blood flow and cardiovascular activity at rest and during stress. And they assessed functioning of the blood vessels up to 90 min after they did the task.
The researchers gave half the people a high-flavonol cocoa drink. And they gave the other half a sham cocoa drink that was low in flavonols.
Here’s What the Researchers Found
In this study, the high-flavanol cocoa drink protected blood vessels much better than the placebo. They were less impaired. And the flavanols improved blood flow during the stress event.
That means the cocoa drink not only protects your heart and brain during stress, but it also helps them function better! What’s more, the effect of this protection is fast. If you start to feel stressed, drinking a cocoa drink can immediately protect your heart and brain.
We’ve known for a long time that cocoa and dark chocolate are great for you. But this is the first study to show that a cocoa drink can protect your heart and brain while you’re in the middle of a stressful event.
So the next time you go through a stressful event, make sure you have a cocoa drink on hand. You can find tasty and healthful cocoa beverages online and in health food stores and even some supermarkets.
Just make sure you don’t buy cheap chocolate beverages that are full of sugar. They’ll do more damage to your heart and brain. Instead, buy one that is sweetened with stevia or xylitol or monk fruit.
Your heart and your brain will thank you!