Scientists have confirmed that your favorite cold-weather drink is a key means of reversing the harmful effects of sitting for long periods of time.
Young adults spend an average of about six hours a day sitting. These sedentary behaviors are associated with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, and depression, even if you are physically active at other times.
Sitting at a desk at work, often for extended periods of time, can gradually impair blood vessel function due to stress and reduced blood flow, resulting in lower availability of an important protective molecule called nitric oxide, which controls vasodilation.
British scientists found that a cup of hot cocoa could counteract these effects in a new study of 40 young men of varying fitness levels.
The secret was that natural cocoa contained high levels of flavanols, heart-healthy compounds that lower blood pressure. One group drank cocoa with a high flavanol content, while the other group drank an almost identical beverage with a lower flavanol content.
The cocoa drink prevented vascular function decline in both arm and leg arteries, maintaining baseline levels during sitting.
Dr. Catarina Rendeiro, lead author of the study and nutritionist at the University of Birmingham, said in a statement: ‘We all spend a lot of time sitting, whether we’re sitting at a desk, in the driver’s seat of a car, on a train, or on the sofa reading a book or watching TV.
‘Even if we don’t move our bodies, we’re still stressed. ‘Finding ways to mitigate the effects of uninterrupted sitting on the vascular system may help reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.’
Due to stress and reduced blood flow due to sitting for long periods of time, nitric oxide in the body is depleted and blood vessel function is gradually impaired (Note)
Sedentary behavior is a major health risk factor and is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and more.
Previous research has shown that sitting behind a desk for long periods of time increases the risk of death from any cause by 16% and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 34%.
Sitting for even a few hours without getting up is detrimental to your health, even if your blood vessels are young and healthy.
Scientists use ultrasound to measure how well arteries widen when blood flow increases, a sign of healthy, flexible blood vessels.
Even just 1 to 6 hours of continuous sitting can significantly reduce this ability, especially in the leg arteries.
A British study tested whether drinking flavanol-rich cocoa two hours before sitting could protect the health of blood vessels in the legs and arms of young, healthy men.
Researchers also determined that cocoa helps maintain circulation in the smallest blood vessels and keeps blood pressure stable.
Researchers recruited 40 young, healthy men between the ages of 18 and 34, half of whom were very fit and half less fit.
Each participant underwent two laboratory visits, during which they drank either a cocoa beverage high in flavanols or a placebo cocoa beverage with most of the flavanols removed.
After 30 to 60 minutes, they sat perfectly still for two hours while scientists used advanced ultrasound to measure how well the arteries in their arms and legs functioned before and after this period of inactivity.
An individual’s baseline fitness level did not provide protection against the harmful vascular effects of prolonged sitting. Both the high-fit and low-fit groups experienced the same negative outcomes for two hours without interruption.
However, flavanol-rich drinks made a significant difference in both healthy and non-healthy participants.
When participants sat for two hours after drinking low-flavanol placebo cocoa, vascular function was significantly reduced in both the brachial artery in the arm and the femoral artery in the leg. This was the expected detrimental effect of sitting.
Participants drank cocoa high in flavanols and then sat for the same amount of time for two hours, but their blood vessel function did not decline at all. The decline was completely prevented.
An individual’s fitness level did not enhance the benefits of flavanols. Both groups received the same level of protection from the cocoa intervention.
“Given how sedentary lifestyles have become more common and the increased risk for vascular health, using foods and drinks rich in flavanols, especially when combined with breaking up periods of inactivity by taking short walks or standing up, can be a great way to improve long-term health, regardless of an individual’s fitness level,” Dr. Rendeiro said.
Duke University researchers report that a decade of progress in reducing deaths from heart failure has been reversed. The mortality rate, which had decreased by 2012, had increased from about 82 to 106 per 100,000 by 2021.
The benefits of flavanols are easily accessible. Dark chocolate and berries are rich in heart-healthy compounds.
To reap the benefits, look for dark chocolate with a high cocoa content of at least 70%. A small square of about 10 grams can provide a meaningful amount of flavanols.
People may also benefit from consuming a cup or two of green or black tea, apples, grapes, or nuts.
The study journal of physiology.
The deterioration of blood vessels that researchers observed in people who sit for long periods of time is a known cause of cardiovascular disease, and may explain the shocking shift in young people now dying from heart failure at increasingly rapid rates.
Duke University researchers reported last year that deaths from heart failure decreased from 1999 to 2012. a sharp twist Since then, deaths have increased from about 82 deaths per 100,000 in 2012 to about 106 per 100,000 in 2021.
