• Did you know?

    1. Cocoa flavanols have been shown to increase your body's natural supply of nitric oxide, a supermolecule that promotes healthy blood flow.
    2. Sources of cocoa flavanols include cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and cocoa beans.
    3. Cocoa flavanols have been clinically proven to support heart & brain health.
    4. Most cocoa products don’t contain enough of cocoa flavanols for you to enjoy their health benefits. That’s where CocoaVia™ comes in.

  • Never heard of cocoa flavanols?

    In short, they are plant-based nutrients that can benefit your whole body. But let’s take a step back and define “flavanols.” Flavanols are bioactive compounds found naturally in many plant-based foods and beverages, including tea, apples, various berries, and cocoa. The unique blend of compounds in the cocoa bean are called cocoa flavanols, and include simple forms such as (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin, as well as linked chains of flavanols known as procyanidins. To make things easy, we refer to this mixture simply as cocoa flavanols. Researchers have studied cocoa flavanols for decades and have found that consuming these compounds can have a beneficial effect on memory, heart, and total body health.
woman running

Health Benefits of Cocoa Flavanols

Cocoa flavanols are the most clinically proven flavanol, backed by 20 years of science, 150+ research papers and 30+ clinical studies.

Here’s the scoop in a cocoa shell: Cocoa flavanols have been shown to increase your body's natural supply of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a supermolecule that allows arteries to relax and widen, promoting healthy blood flow throughout your body. Better blood flow supports better health from head to toe:

  • Brain Health - Blood flow to and from your brain is important to brain health and function. Beyond supporting healthy blood flow to the brain, several clinical studies have shown that cocoa flavanols can improve memory and brain function.
  • Heart Health - Nitric oxide helps keep your arteries flexible, supporting the cardiovascular system, your body’s transportation system. When blood vessels are healthy your heart can be too.
  • Whole-body - A healthy blood flow delivers essential oxygen and nutrients to every organ, muscle, and tissue throughout your body. Proper blood flow helps you perform at your best.

The research speaks for itself. When taken regularly, cocoa flavanols can benefit your body from head to toe. Learn more about cocoa flavanol benefits.

  • How to Get Cocoa Flavanols

    Cocoa flavanols deliver some pretty awesome health-boosting benefits, but it can be tough to find the flavanols in regular foods. While you may love hot cocoa and your favorite chocolate bar, most cocoa products won’t contain enough of those flavanols for you to enjoy their health benefits. That’s because natural cocoa compounds are delicate and the flavanols are often destroyed during the traditional cocoa processing process.

  • -----------------------------

    The amount of cocoa flavanols in a serving of chocolate varies greatly and in most cases, you won’t be able to get enough cocoa flavanols from even high percentage dark chocolate to experience any health benefits."

    ------------------------------

So how can you find these fantastic, yet fragile, flavanols? Here are some sources:

cocoa pod and chocolate

Cocoa Beans

Cocoa beans are the fermented and dried seeds of the cacao plant. Cocoa beans can be roasted and be a snack on their own. You can also ground or blend the beans and add them to smoothies, yogurt, desserts, and baked goods. Cocoa beans can deliver some cocoa flavanols (but how they are handled does matter!) but not nearly as much as the concentrated amount you can get in some other sources.

chocolate bar

Dark Chocolate

The amount of cocoa flavanols in dark chocolate can range from 100 mg in 100 grams of chocolate (about 3 ounces) to 2,000 mg.

The higher the percentage of cocoa solids, the more bitter the taste. Milk chocolate also has flavanols, but far less than what is in dark chocolate. While dark chocolate contains nutrients like zinc, copper, and magnesium, it is also high in calories, fat, and contains added sugars - so you need to watch how much you eat!

Cocoa Powder

Cocoa Powder

Cocoa powder is a processed cocoa product and it’s difficult to know exactly what you’re getting in terms of flavanol content per serving. Natural unsweetened cocoa powder contains more flavanols than Dutch-processed or alkalized cocoa powder.

Tests have found that a tablespoon of cocoa powder will provide about as many milligrams of flavanols as an entire bar of a low percentage dark chocolate candy bar. Cocoa powder also contains minerals, protein, potassium, and modest amounts of fiber.

Try CocoaVia™ Cocoa Flavanol Supplements

While you can get cocoa flavanols from the above, they cannot provide the flavanol content needed to support health. One of the best ways to maximize the health benefits from these plant-based nutrients is with CocoaVia™ cocoa extract supplements.

Using our proprietary Cocoapro® process, we carefully handle cocoa beans and gently extract cocoa flavanols to produce the highest concentration of cocoa flavanols found in a supplement today. Cocoapro™ extract is 24x more concentrated than the cocoa flavanols in natural cocoa powder*. Every CocoaVia™ supplement serving delivers 500-750mg of flavanols clinically proven to support heart & brain health.

Learn more about Cocoa Flavanols

  • Cocoa Powder

    How Many Flavonoids Are in Cocoa Powder?

    1 scoop of CocoaVia Cardio Powder gives you 500mg of cocoa flavanols. When you compare this to Cocoa Baking powder - you would need 11 tablespoons to achieve the same cocoa flavanols levels.

    Continue Reading 
  • Fruits with Cocoa

    Epicatechin: Benefits, Sources & More

    Delve into the world of epicatechin, a potent flavonoid abundantly present in cocoa, and discover its incredible health benefits. Explore the latest scientific research that highlights the positive effects of epicatechin on overall well-being.

    Continue Reading 
  • Consumer Labs Tested and Approved. Highest LEvel of COcoa Flavanols. Depicting CocoaVia range.

    Finding The Right CocoaVia Product For You

    CocoaVia supplements can support the peak functioning of your heart, brain and body today.

    Continue Reading 

1”Cacao vs Cocoa: What's the Difference?,” Healthline, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cacao-vs-cocoa

2 Cooperman, Tod, MD. “How much dark chocolate equals a tablespoon of cocoa powder?,” ConsumerLab, July 25, 2017, How Much Dark Chocolate Equals a Tablespoon of Cocoa Powder? - ConsumerLab.com

3 Anderson, Mark, Ph.D. “Dark Chocolates, Cocoa & Cacao Powders, Nibs, and Supplements Review -- Sources of Flavanols,” ConsumerLab, How Products Were Evaluated Supplements Review - ConsumerLab.com