The case for chocolate

I recently wrote about a research study linking sniffing chocolate to improved physical performance. And that led to a rabbit hole moment (who am I kidding, it was more like a couple of caffeine and 85% cacao fueled hours of browsing)

So after that few hours of coffee and chocolate inspired research and I came up with the following (TL/DR at the bottom)

Claimed benefit	Strength of evidence	Who funded it?
Improved blood vessel function and modest blood pressure reduction from cocoa flavanols	Strong (many RCTs and meta-analyses)	Mixed. Many independent university studies, but also several supported by Mars, Incorporated, which has invested heavily in cocoa flavanol research. (Verywell Health)
Reduced cardiovascular mortality (cocoa extract, not chocolate bars)	Moderate	The large COSMOS trial was investigator-led but received funding, cocoa extract and infrastructure support from Mars Edge (Mars' nutrition division), with additional support from Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.
Improved endothelial (blood vessel) function	Good	Early UK trial funded by King's College London. Cocoa products supplied by Mars Inc. (ISRCTN)
Possible improvements in cognition in older adults	Mixed	Independent funding from the U.S. National Institute on Aging for ongoing work. Earlier studies produced inconsistent results. (Office of Dietary Supplements)
Lower inflammation	Promising	COSMOS biomarker analyses (again supported by Mars Edge). (The Sun)
Lower Type 2 diabetes risk (dark chocolate)	Observational only	Large cohort studies from academic groups. No evidence that eating chocolate itself prevents diabetes; healthier lifestyles may explain some of the association. (People.com)
Recovery from Dementor attacks	Every patient receiving chocolate after exposure to a Dementor recovered sufficiently to continue the plot. No placebo-controlled studies have been completed.	Hogwarts Hospital Wing. Conflict of interest statement: Madam Pomfrey declared no financial relationship with Honeydukes, although she accepted that chocolate remained the standard of care.

Independent reviews generally arrive at a fairly conservative conclusion: cocoa flavanols appear to produce small but measurable improvements in vascular function and blood pressure, particularly in people with elevated cardiovascular risk.

TL/DR

So when the headline read "Chocolate is......" the small print generally reads something like, "...provided it's high in cocoa, rich in flavanols, low in sugar, consumed in moderation, and preferably isn't actually a chocolate bar."

Fun Fact World Chocolate Day is July 7th, and marks the introduction of chocolate into Europe in 1550 and International Chocolate Day is usually celebrated in the US (and marks the birth of Milton S Hershey) on September 13th. Celebrate responsibly!