What are cocoa polyphenols?

The puzzle of why the French suffer fewer cardiovascular related health problems than people in other countries has long been studied. The French tend to live longer while having apparently similar diets rich in saturated fats. It’s called the “French paradox.” Research found that the French consumption of red wine contributed to their longer, healthier lives. More specifically the polyphenols in red wine explain this. These powerful natural nutrients act as antioxidants, protecting against the attacks of free radicals in our body. The presence of these free radicals, highly unstable molecules, is triggered by stress, pollution, direct exposure to sunlight, unbalanced diet, smoking etc.

Free radicals damage our cells and an overabundance even may affect the DNA-structure, which accelerates the ageing process. Serious attacks can even cause the degeneration of functions such as vision and the nervous system. In normal conditions, a healthy body is able to neutralize the attacks from free radicals. But when the free radicals are too many in number, they can cause disease, early ageing, dysfunction or even cancer.

Although polyphenols are found in many fruits and vegetables, cocoa polyphenols seem to be special due to their high availability and extreme effectiveness in neutralizing free radical activity. In fact, cocoa contains more polyphenols than any other food*. Furthermore the antioxidant capacities of cocoa polyphenols are much stronger than those present in red wine, green tea or broccoli for instance.

The high amounts of cocoa polyphenols in ACTICOA™ cocoa and chocolate can help to restore the balance between antioxidants and free radicals in our body.