A New Era Of Cardiovascular Care: What Today’s Research Shows Us

As Americans live longer, it’s never been more important to focus our attention on quality of life. It’s not just enough to champion life extension, but we must also protect the energy, cognition, mobility, and resilience that allow us to fully inhabit our lives as we age.

Few systems influence that trajectory more profoundly than the cardiovascular system. The heart and blood vessels deliver oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and immune signals to every corner of the body. When they function well, the benefits ripple outward to the brain, metabolism, skin, and beyond. 

Food is nourishment. Food is art. Food is comfort. Food is communal. And ultimately, food is functional. 

What we put into our bodies has measurable physiological effects that influence how we feel today and how we age over time. This is especially true for heart health, as dietary patterns have a well-established influence on cholesterol levels1, blood pressure2, inflammatory response, and metabolic function3. Research consistently suggests that eating a plant-forward, nutrient-dense diet is associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes.

However, it’s important to understand that while diet is the foundation, supplementation can provide meaningful support—especially for specific nutrients that are hard to get through diet alone.

For example, clinically meaningful amounts of cocoa flavanols would be challenging without supplementation. The amount found in products varies considerably and are often not labeled. In addition, processing methods often reduce flavanol content in conventional chocolate products. 

In the pursuit of longevity, many people keep track of, and try to improve upon, a variety of metrics. They monitor sleep quality, step counts, and heart rate variability in the hopes it will help them thrive with age. 

More and more, people are adding VO2 max to that list. In fact, in a recent survey we did of our Instagram community 32% of responders said they monitor this metric “regularly” and another 39% said they “wanted to” start.  

VO2 max is shorthand for maximal oxygen. It's measured in milliliters of oxygen you use per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). It describes the maximum volume of oxygen that your body can utilize during intense physical activity. It’s considered the "gold standard test" for cardiovascular fitness.

While most people think of fitness as the only way to improve this metric, nutrition plays a very important complementary role. 

Cocoa flavanols, such as those found in CocoaVia™ 500 mg Cocoa Flavanols, promote nitric oxide production, encouraging blood vessels to relax so oxygen-rich blood can circulate more efficiently.* 

Sleep is your body’s primary recovery phase, a time in which the body and mind enter an active repair window during which blood pressure drops, inflammation recalibrates, and metabolic processes reset. 

Unfortunately, sleep is something many Americans struggle with, including several in our community. In our recent Instagram poll, a quarter of the respondents said they were not satisfied with their sleep quality. Another 35% said it “could be better.” 

How often are you actively thinking about your circulation? Well, we asked our audience and 57% said they considered it very important! However, 34% said they “hadn’t thought about it much” and 9% said they hadn’t, but “I’ll start.” 

In fact, cocoa flavanols, found in CocoaVia™ 500 mg Cocoa Flavanols, have been shown to support endothelial function, helping blood vessels remain responsive, flexible, and healthy.* 

The association between the heart and love isn’t just a symbolic one. Our connections have real implications with cardiovascular function. Relationships support heart health in both emotional and physiological ways. Strong social bonds are associated with lower stress markers, healthy blood pressure patterns, and even improved longevity.

When we asked our audience about spending time with loved ones, and if they wished they had more time to spend making connections, 51% said “yes” and 33% said “sometimes.” 

CocoaVia™ 500 mg Cocoa Flavanols are made with proprietary Cocoapro™ cocoa extract, a highly concentrated source designed to preserve the flavanols naturally present in cocoa beans. 

Backed by more than 30 years of research and over 60 human clinical studies, the extract delivers levels that have been clinically shown to support cardiovascular and brain health.*

Cardiovascular longevity is not driven by a single breakthrough, but by daily breaks you give yourself: how you move, eat, sleep, connect, and support your biology at the cellular level, including through supplements like CocoaVia™ 500 mg Cocoa Flavanols.