Relationship between Cocoa Intake and Healthy Status: A Pilot Study in University Students

Abstract

Due to its polyphenol content, cocoa’s potential health effects are attracting much attention, showing, among other things, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, and neuroprotective actions. However, there is very limited information regarding the effect of cocoa on human immunity. This study aimed to establish the relationship between cocoa consumption and health status, focusing on physical activity habits and allergy prevalence in young people. For this, a sample of 270 university students was recruited to complete a food frequency questionnaire, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and a lifestyle and health status questionnaire. The results were analysed by classifying the participants into tertiles defined according to their cocoa consumption: low (LC), moderate (MC), and high (HC) consumers. The consumption of cocoa inversely correlated with physical activity and the MC group had significantly less chronic disease frequency than the LC group. The percentage of allergic people in the MC and HC groups was lower than that in the LC group and, moreover, the cocoa intake, especially moderate consumption, was also associated with a lower presence of allergic symptoms. Thus, from these results a positive effect of cocoa intake on allergy can be suggested in the young population.

Chocolate, “Food of the Gods”: History, Science, and Human Health

“…Regular cocoa consumption could be related to preventing or improving health imbalance induced by allergic processes [89]. The positive effects of cocoa flavonoids on the immune system (related to several allergic mechanisms) are known, such as reducing the release of mediators, restoring the balance of T-helper 1 and T-helper 2 cells [90], and down-regulation of IgE production [89,91].…”

“…Regular cocoa consumption could be related to preventing or improving health imbalance induced by allergic processes [89]. The positive effects of cocoa flavonoids on the immune system (related to several allergic mechanisms) are known, such as reducing the release of mediators, restoring the balance of T-helper 1 and T-helper 2 cells [90], and down-regulation of IgE production [89,91]. By contrast, chocolate is one of the main potentially allergenic foods that is also capable of causing hypersensitivity reactions, manifesting different clinical symptoms (e.g., fatigue, irritability, insomnia, headache, asthma, and diarrhea) which appear in a few hours or days after food intake [92].…”

“…Ramiro-Puig E. et al 2008 [85] In vivo and in vitro rat study Cocoa Cocoa-enriched diet modulated intestinal immune responses in young rats Camps-Bossacoma M. et al 2018 [86] In vivo and in vitro rat study Cocoa Theobromine in cocoa was responsible for systemic and intestinal antibody concentrations and for modifying lymphocyte composition in young healthy rats Esser D. et al 2014 [87] Randomized double blind crossover human study Chocolate Dark chocolate consumption improved leukocyte adhesion factors and vascular function in overweight men Rodríguez-Lagunas M.J. et al 2019 [89] Cross-sectional observational human study…”

Attenuating Effect of Peruvian Cocoa Populations on the Acute Asthmatic Response in Brown Norway Rats

“…In particular, cocoa consumption has previously shown anti-allergic properties in a model of systemic disease [ 18 , 19 ] and oral sensitization [ 20 ]. In addition, a protective effect on allergy has also been suggested when considering cocoa consumption in young people [ 21 ].…”

Effects of Raw and Roasted Cocoa Bean Extracts Supplementation on Intestinal Enzyme Activity, Biochemical Parameters, and Antioxidant Status in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet

“…These beneficial properties, attributed mainly to the presence of a significant number of bioactive compounds, are a perennial topic of investigation [1,5,6]. Cocoa beans due to the presence of polyphenols exhibit diverse biological activities, such as antioxidant, antiradical, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, antihypertensive, anticarcinogenic, antiallergic, immunomodulatory, and cardioprotective, resulting in the protection against diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer or neurodegenerative disorders among others [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Cocoa flavan-3-ols, mostly (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin, are easily absorbed by the intestinal walls and brought to the bloodstream after being rapidly and extensively metabolized into numerous structurally related metabolites, thus presenting a great potential for action in the human organism [7,16] On the other hand cocoa beans mainly contains polymeric forms of flavan-3-ols that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine, and the majority of those compounds reach the colon where are extensively metabolized by colon microflora into a wide range of low molecular weight phenolic acids [7,16].…”