A nutrient in cocoa called epicatechin appears to lower the risk of four common killer diseases, research suggests. Among the Kuna people of Panama, who can drink up to 40 cups of cocoa per week, rates of stroke, heart disease, cancer and diabetes are less than 10 percent.
The Kuna also appear to live longer than other Panama inhabitants and do not get dementia, a US scientist reports in Chemistry and Industry journal. Experts stressed that genes and other lifestyle factors also play a part.
However, researcher Dr Norman Hollenberg, of Harvard Medical School, says the cocoa chemical would benefit other populations too, including the Western world, although he concedes there may be ethnic differences. And he acknowledges his studies are based on observations, so he cannot provide cast iron proof.
He has been investigating the effects of epicatechin in hundreds of elderly people from different cultures as well as hundreds of Kuna people over the last 15 years.
"My interest began with the fact that Kuna people do not develop high blood pressure," he explained. "I was in search of protective genes but it turned out to be environmental because, when they migrated to the mainland with all the benefits of modern Western urban life, their blood pressure rose with age and hypertension became quite common."