The researchers in a recent study have revealed simple daily habits, with the aim of protecting people from cardiovascular disease, especially caused by a sedentary lifestyle.
In today’s modern world, sedentary habits, especially among young adults, have become widespread as they spend about six hours a day sitting. As a result, sitting for long periods is detrimental to the functioning of the blood vessels.
According to previous research, even 1 percent obstruction of vascular function could increase the risk of cardiovascular problems by 13 percent.
According to Dr. Catarina Rendeiro, assistant professor of nutritional sciences and lead author: “Whether we’re sitting at a desk… or on the couch reading a book or watching TV, we all spend a lot of time sitting. Even if we’re not moving our body, we’re still putting stress on it.”
Given the major health risks of sedentary habits, new findings from the University of Birmingham suggest that flavanol-rich foods, including tea, cocoa, apples and berries, could be a simple key to saving your heart from the negative effects of uninterrupted sitting.
Flavanols: the natural armor of the heart
According to the findings of the study, published in the Journal of PhysiologyFlavanols occur naturally in various foods and fruits, such as nuts, tea and coffee.
In an experimental study, researchers tested whether our eating choices, characterized by high flavanol content, could address the negative effects of prolonged sitting on vascular health.
The team used high flavanol and low flavanol cocoa drinks to assess their efficacy.
According to the findings, low flavanol cocoa does not reduce the negative impact of sitting as people showed a decrease in Flow-mediated dilation or FMD.
On the other hand, high flavanol cocoa showed no reduction in Flow-mediated dilation or FMD, confirming its high efficacy against worsening vascular disease.
Dr. Sam Lucas, professor of cerebrovascular, exercise and environmental physiology and co-author, said: “Our experiment indicates that higher fitness levels cannot prevent the temporary worsening of vascular function caused by sitting and drinking only low flavanol cocoa.”
This study is the first of its kind to show that flavanols can prevent this sedentary-induced vascular dysfunction, regardless of a person’s fitness level.
