Two recent studies found that cocoa contains chemicals called flavan-3-ols, which have been associated to lowering blood pressure and increasing function of the blood vessels cells. By consequence, drinking or eating cocoa not only lowers blood pressure, but also diminishes the risk of cardiovascular disease in elderly men, helping them live longer.

Researchers concluded that cocoa is a rich source of antioxidants, therefore its action may also have a positive effect to other disease that are linked to oxidative stress (e.g. pulmonary diseases and certain types of cancer).

The team studied 470 men aged over 65 and asked them questions about their daily intake of cocoa. Based on over 15 year examination of cocoa's relationship to cardiovascular health within this group, this research team found that men who consumed cocoa regularly had considerable lower blood pressure than those who did not. On the other hand, those men with highest cocoa consumption were at half risk to die from cardiovascular disease in comparison with the others. More than that, their risk remained lower and related to smoking habits, weight, calorie intake, weight, physical activity levels, alcohol consumption and other factors.

The conclusion was that high cocoa and chocolate consumption makes men less likely to die of any cause.

The problem is cocoa is rarely tolerable in large amounts and therefore the suggested therapeutic amount is about 100g of dark chocolate per day.