Are you sitting down? If you are get up and take a break, maybe go make a cup of tea.
It is widely recognized that being sedentary is a health risk and it is recommended that you stand up and move for two minutes for every 30 minutes of sedentary time.
Even if you exercise, being sedentary causes a decline in blood vessel function after sitting for extended periods of time. However, a new study has some good news about keeping your blood vessels healthy while sitting.
What was measured
The study was done on forty healthy young men, twenty were very fit and twenty were classified as low fitness. This was to determine if fitness, or just sitting, played a role in blood vessel health.
They were measured for vascular function through brachial flow medial dilation (FMD), a measure of arterial dilation in the arm during blood flow, blood pressure, arterial shear rate and blood flow and leg muscle oxygenation. Other research has shown that even a 1% drop in vascular function, measured through FMD, corresponds to a 13% rise in the risk of cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease, strokes, and heart attacks.
The researchers wanted to learn if dietary interventions could prevent the decline in vascular health that occurs with prolonged sitting. The men were given a low flavanol cocoa drink or a high flavanol cocoa drink and then sat for two hours (the average person sits for 6 hours a day)
BTW remember how bananas interfere with flavanol absorption?
Flavanols are found in apples, berries, tea, nuts, coffee and cocoa beans. They are known to have cardiovascular benefits and support support the vascular system during psychological stress.
You want them working for you.
The results?
As we sit more, cardiovascular disease is also increasing, but there is good news.
Flavanols can improve blood vessel health. After two hours of sitting, regardless of fitness levels, the men drinking the low flavanol cocoa showed lower vascular function, higher blood pressure and lower oxygenation in their leg muscles. The men drinking high flavanol cocoa did not show any declines in blood vessel function or lower oxygenation.
The results show that fitness does not counteract the effects of being sedentary or how we respond to dietary intervention. Everyone benefits from flavanols – at least that is the assumption since this study was only done on men. But flavanols are good for everyone, this is a fact.
It is easy to add flavanols to your diet; cocoa, coffee, apples, plums, berries, nuts and tea, both black and green are good sources.
Next time you sit down, plan to take an activity snack, a short break to move around every 30 minutes and enjoy a cup of tea – plus if you stay hydrated you will be getting up more 🙂
Change your mind, change your health,
Shayla
Eat better, live better and feel better.
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