Working while sitting is destroying your arteries. There’s good news (and it involves cocoa)

If you’re reading this news from the comfort of a chair, we have bad news — and good news. According to a new study, led by Portuguese researcher Catarina Rendeiro, cocoa flavanols protect arteries from damage caused by sitting without interruption.

In our modern world, the chair has become our main habitat. We are anchored to our desksour cars and our sofas.

This it’s not healthyand we know it. However, we tend to think of this problem as something that happens gradually, and whose effects on our body manifest slowly.

A new one, led by the Portuguese researcher Catarina Rendeiro and published on Wednesday in the magazine The Journal of Physiologyreveals that the truth is much more immediate.

Previous studies have determined that just two hours sitting without interruption are sufficient to significantly impair the function of the vital lining of your arteriesa condition that is a direct precursor to cardiovascular diseases.

But the new study found a remarkable and very practical defense against the damage caused by excessive time on the couch: your arteries can benefit from a natural compound found in cocoa.

Your arteries when you’re sitting

People remain seated on average about 8 hours a dayand our bodies really don’t like that at all. This sitting time is a factor in risk for a large number of cardiovascular diseaseswarn researchers.

“Even if we’re not moving our body, we’re still putting it under stress. Find ways to mitigate or impact that sitting for uninterrupted periods has on the vascular system can help us reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases”, says Catarina Rendeiro, in .

The best thing to do is avoid sitting for prolonged periods, but the team led by the Portuguese researcher, trained at IST and professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Birmingham, looked for something more. And if there were something you could eat or drink that might help?

The team focused on something called endotheliumthe coating, with a single cellular layer, which covers all the blood vessels we have.

The endothelium controls blood flow and, in response, releases a critical signaling molecule: nitric oxide (NO). This gas tells the smooth muscle in the arterial wall to relax, causing the artery to widen, or “dilate.”

Behealthy and flexible response It’s what keeps your blood pressure under control and ensures that oxygen-rich blood can get where it needs to go, explains .

When you sit down, blood flow to your legs becomes slow. Without this healthy flow, the endothelium command center goes silent. Stop producing that vital nitric oxide. Your arteries become stiffdo not respond and become dysfunctional.

This effect can be measured, and that’s what the researchers focused on: they decided test whether cocoa can help.

Why Cocoa?

Previous studies have shown that diets rich in flavonoidsthe class of compounds to which cocoa belongs, reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Specifically, foods rich in flavonoids such as cocoa, red fruits and citrus fruits demonstrated to improve endothelial function — the health of the arterial lining.

In their study, researchers recruited 40 healthy young men and carefully divided them into two distinct groups: a group in very good physical shape and a more couch-friendly group.

The study was a trial “randomized, double blind, and crossed“, a standard that follows the best clinical evidence practices.

This means that each participant was tested twiceserving as your own control. In one trial, you receive the real intervention, and in another, a placebo. Neither the participant Not even the researchers knew which was which until the end.

The placebo test involved a cocoa drink “low in flavonoids”. It was specially designed to taste like regular cocoa but contained virtually none (just 5.6 mg) of the active compounds.

Then they sat without interruption for 2 hours. No moving, no breaks to walk. After just 120 minutes in the chairboth the group in very good shape and the group in bad shape saw their endothelial function deteriorate drastically.

It didn’t matter whether the participants were in shape or not, their arteries they had suffered in the same way.

Now the good news

The good news came in the second part of the experiment, during which participants received a flavonoid-rich cocoa drinkpacked with 695 mg of total flavanols, including 150 mg of a particularly potent one called (-)-epicatequina.

These are the naturally occurring antioxidant compounds and which give the dark cocoa, green tea, apples and berries its reputation for healthy food. The drink was perfectly balanced in flavor and calories, making it indistinguishable from placebo.

In this case, the damage to your arteries has practically disappeared. The drink rich in flavanols had completely prevented the decline in endothelial function induced by sitting, both in the good and bad physical fitness groups.

“Our study shows that consume foods and drinks rich in flavonoids During periods spent sitting is a good way to reduce part of the impact of inactivity on the vascular system”, explains Rendeiro.

This Doesn’t mean you can sit still as long as you want, if you eat or drink some flavanols. There is still no substitute for physical exercise — or, at least, for even a tiny bit of movement — but apparently Some of the damage can be prevented this way.

But…

Well, now that we’re all excited and eager to run to the supermarket to buy cocoa drinks, on our way to the couch for another series marathon, let’s take it easy — for two reasons.

Firstly, cocoa protected the main arteries (macro-vasculature), but did not prevent dysfunction in the tiny micro-vessels deep inside the leg muscles.

Secondly, an important caveat: the dose. The study used a very high and specific dose of flavanols (695 mg). You can’t get this from the typical milk chocolate bar, or even most dark chocolates.

Why? Most commercial cocoa is “Dutch” or “alkalized”a process that makes it less bitter and darkerbut it also destroys most of the healthy flavanols. The placebo drink from the study it was actually a standard alkalized cocoa powder.

To obtain this protective dose, it would be necessary to find cocoa powder specialized and rich in flavanols (often called “natural”“) or consume other foods rich in flavanols such as berries, apples and green or black tea.

But there is more good news: It shouldn’t be too difficult to reach this doseit says Alessio DanielePhD student at the University of Birmingham and co-author of the study.

“In truth, it is quite easy to add foods rich in flavanols to the diet. There are cocoa products available in supermarkets and health food stores that are processed using methods that preserve flavanol levels”, highlights the researcher.

“If cocoa is not our thing, there are fruits like apples, plums and berriesdried fruits, and black and green tea — they are all common ingredients in the kitchen and are easily available”, concludes Daniele.

There is still a final caveat to be made: if you like making smoothies with fruits rich in flavonoids, don’t add bananas to them.

According to a published in 2023 in the magazine Food & Function, the enzyme Polyphenol oxidase contained in a single banana is enough to dramatically affect our body’s ability to absorb the flavonoids that your smoothie is supposed to provide.

I.e, eat bananas, which are rich in potassium, magnesium and other important nutrients, and eat fruits rich in flavonoids. But don’t put them together.

So come on, get up from that chair and help yourself to a nice cup of cocoa. Or, have some tea. Your arteries will thank you.