The other study compared how blood platelets responded to a flavonol-rich cocoa drink with 25 grams of semi-sweet chocolate pieces and a blood-thinning, 81-milligram aspirin dose. The research found similar reactions to the two from a group of 20- to 40-year-olds: both the drink and the aspirin prevented platelets from sticking together or clotting, which can impede blood flow.(5)
In other words, flavonol-rich cocoa and chocolate act similarly to low-dose aspirin in promoting healthy blood flow. Reducing the blood's ability to clot also reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks.
Lead study author Dr. Carl Keen cautioned that his team isn't suggesting that people eat a couple of candy bars instead of taking their daily dose of aspirin.
"We're not advocating that people consume flavonol-rich foods in place of aspirin," stressed Keen, who is also the University of California-Davis nutrition department chairman. For people who cannot take aspirin, however, he said eating flavonol-rich foods "may be a useful approach."
He noted one important difference between aspirin and flavonol-rich foods: "The effects you see in aspirin are longer-lasting than the effects you see in flavonols," he said.
Although the trial involved just 40 people, Keen called the results "remarkably robust" and said the platelet effect may be related to the nitric oxide benefits found by Hollenberg's study.
Keen's team currently has an article under review in which they show a direct comparison to low-dose aspirin using the same study group.
"The next thing on our agenda is to look at chronic effects," said Keen. "What happens when a person has a high flavonol intake for two weeks? Do you still see the same effects? Many times...the body adapts or adjusts and you don't necessarily see the same thing after two or three weeks."
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