Do cocoa flavanols slow and even reverse biological aging? That’s the exciting hypothesis the National Institute of Health (NIH) just awarded Dr. Yanbin Dong $3 million to test!
Dr. Dong, a geneticist and cardiologist at the Medical College of Georgia, will collaborate with Harvard investigators to analyze blood samples from 600 individuals consuming daily cocoa flavanols (600mg) as part of the highly anticipated COSMOS cocoa flavanol study.
“There is no question flavanols are good for you, the questions are how much and in what way they are good for you,” says Dong.
Dong’s team will study biological aging, which takes into account key health factors like genetics and lifestyle. They’ll perform a detailed analysis of inflammation and genetic changes associated with disease to see if cocoa flavanol consumption reduces those factors.
We already know that cocoa flavanols enhance heart and brain function by improving blood flow and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients.
But, wow! Can flavanols actually make us biologically younger?! We’ll be sure to report back once the results are in!