It has been observed that during a stressful event or situation such as a business meeting, exam, an interview, or even a class presentation, the heart rate and blood pressure rise for the time being. And you might be surprised to know that on average, the endothelium takes 90 minutes to normalize.

According to the expert's findings, it has been found that eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables keeps a person away from various cardiovascular diseases.

Where your unhealthy diet and hectic routine keeps you under the continued strain of stress, it can also contribute to some serious health problems, including heart diseases. doctormagazine.com has provided the facility of reaching doctors near you and asking health questions, which will ultimately help you keep safe from the risk of cardiovascular events. Medical experts have emphasized much on the use of cocoa for protecting male's hearts from the effects of mental stress.

Flavanols, a popular group of flavonoids, are nutrients found naturally in different fruits and vegetables. The main Flavanols found in cocoa are epicatechin, catechin, and procyanidins. According to recent research, drinking hot cocoa, which is plentiful of Flavanols, before any stressful event can enhance blood flow and help males to reinstate endothelial function.

Stress Test

In this featured article of doctor magazine, next, we’re going to present research conducted by the scientists at the University of Birmingham, England. They selected 30 healthy males between 18-45 years for a stress test on two different occasions with an interval of at least 7 days. The participants were required to fast for 12 hours before the test and avoid alcohol, intense exercise, and food or drinks rich in polyphenol.

The participants consumed the regular cocoa rich in Flavanols before the first visit and a special low Flavanols cocoa drink on the second visit. Before the experiment, the researchers had checked the BP and heartbeat of the participants.

The participants had to answer some questions in the experiment, and if they told the wrong answer, an alarm used to rung created a stressful situation.

The stress test results showed that the males who drank regular cocoa before the test had fewer endothelial declines than the males who consumed low Flavanols cocoa drink, which proved that high Flavanols cocoa drink helps improve the endothelial function and blood flow.

Now, it should be kept in mind that researchers have only studied males for cocoa use and are unaware of this study's conclusions to females. This medical research has excluded females because stress can have different impacts on the hormones of a female. So, researchers should study the impact of Flavanols intake on stress responses of a female body.

Benefits and Risks of Consuming Cocoa

Although cocoa intake is extremely beneficial to protect against heart diseases, at the same, time, there are some risks that are also associated with it.

Benefits:

Risk:

The Bottom Line

Now, we can conclude that males should add cocoa to their diet in a balanced way to protect them from numerous cardiovascular disorders under stressful events.