Could Flavanol-Rich Foods Protect Against Prolonged Sitting?

1 min

While there’s no substitute for staying physically active, your food choices may also help counteract the risks of sitting for long periods of time. That’s according to recent research from the University of Birmingham, suggesting that eating foods rich in flavanols, such as tea, berries, apples, and cocoa, may help protect men’s blood vessels from the negative effects of prolonged sitting. Sedentary behavior is common and is known to impair vascular function; even a small drop in vascular performance significantly increases cardiovascular disease risk.

In a study of 40 healthy young men, participants drank either a high-flavanol cocoa beverage or a low-flavanol version before sitting for two hours. Those who consumed the low-flavanol drink showed declines in blood vessel function, increases in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number in a reading), and reduced blood flow and muscle oxygenation, regardless of their fitness level. In contrast, participants who consumed high-flavanol cocoa showed no decline in vascular function, marking the first evidence that flavanols may prevent sitting-induced vascular dysfunction.

Researchers note that flavanols may support vascular health regardless of fitness level and can be easily added to the diet through foods like cocoa, apples, berries, nuts, and tea. They suggest that incorporating flavanol-rich foods, along with breaking up long sitting periods, could help mitigate cardiovascular risks linked to sedentary lifestyles.