A research by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has revealed that cocoa beverages can help reduce systolic blood pressure in older adults with untreated hypertension.

The paper published in the Food Frontiers journal on the May 6, 2024, compared the acute effect of co-consumption of cocoa beverage with a high fat high salt meal (braised rice) versus co-consumption of water with high fat high salt meal.

The study conducted at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Wellness Centre between February and March 2023, involved 28 participants.

All participants were not taking hypertensive medication and had no other diagnosed medical conditions.

The results show that co-consumption of cocoa beverages (15g of cocoa powder in 250mL water) with a high fat and high salt meals lead to a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure in older adults living with untreated hypertension over a 120-min period.

Dr. Isaac Amoah is the lead scientist from the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

“When the analysis was done over the two hour period, we saw that when the participant took the cocoa beverage with the braised rice (high fat high salt meal) there was a significant reduction in their systolic blood pressure.

“I must mention that at time 90 and 120 the result was even prominent which gives us an indication that perhaps cocoa might have the ability to sustain the reduction over a longer period. What we did was for a short period, we want to go deeper into that to look at the long term effect of cocoa intake on blood pressure,” he said.

Dr. Isaac Amoah admonished the intake of cocoa products as a lifestyle change to improve hypertension outcomes.

“For this we are basically promoting the need to consume cocoa beverages as part of their regular dietary pattern because cocoa contains some essential compounds that have the ability of reducing systolic blood pressure,” he said.