The positive effects of cocoa have been observed for decades, and over the years clinical trials have strengthened these observations.
In 1944, researchers studied natives of various Panamanian islands who consumed several cups of cocoa a day.
These people, it turns out, had lower blood pressure than the people who moved to the mainland of Panama and stopped drinking cocoa.
And many laboratory trials since then have further supported the benefits of cocoa. One review looked at trials containing 854 hypertension patients to come up with a general conclusion about the food.
Overall, they found that it was “significant” at lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure by over 2 mmHg. However, it’s worth noting that the people undergoing the cocoa trial were already on hypertension medication.
More recently, the University of Surrey has performed up-to-date research that the authors said shows the the link between cocoa and lowering blood pressure is “undeniable”.
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