Cocoa Extract Supplement Reduces Key Marker of Inflammation and Aging, Study Finds

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Health & Fitness, Alternative Health

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A new clinical analysis based on the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) found that older adults taking a daily cocoa extract supplement saw an 8.4% annual drop in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a key marker of chronic inflammation
The supplement provided 500 milligrams of cocoa flavanols daily, including 80 milligrams of (-)-epicatechin, which is the same bioactive compound found naturally in cacao
Researchers said this anti-inflammatory effect may help explain a 27% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality previously observed in the larger COSMOS trial
Taking a cocoa flavanol supplement appears to support vascular and immune health by calming NF-κB signaling and improving endothelial function
Unlike dark chocolate, standardized cocoa extract supplements are free of sugar and fat, delivering clinically studied doses in capsule form

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Are you measuring the inflammation that speeds up aging or assuming you'd feel it if it were there?
0:05.3	Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen
0:10.0	summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. No reading required.
0:14.7	Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights.
0:18.7	Hello, and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom.
0:22.3	I'm Ethan Foster.
0:23.9	Today you'll hear what a large clinical program found
0:26.8	when older adults took a standardized cocoa extract every day.
0:30.8	Why high sensitivity C-reactive protein matters for you,
0:34.9	and how to evaluate a supplement label
0:37.0	so you aren't guessing about dose or purity.
0:40.0	I'm Alara Sky.
0:42.1	The focus is the cocoa supplement and multivitamin outcome study, or cosmos.
0:48.1	In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 598 adults averaging age 70, participants took 500 milligrams
0:57.0	of cocoa flavanols daily, including 80 milligrams of minus Epictecan, or a placebo, for two years.
1:05.0	Researchers tracked five blood markers tied to inflammation and immune balance.
1:09.0	To set the stage, you're looking at HSCRP as a readout of body-wide inflammatory stress,
1:15.6	IL-6 and TNF alpha, as pro-inflammatory cytokines,
1:20.6	IL-10 as an anti-inflammatory signal, and interferon gamma as an immune-regulating marker.
1:28.3	The question was simple.
1:29.3	Does multi-year cocoa extract move these needles in a meaningful way for older adults?
1:35.3	The answer was yes for HSCRP.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 9 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Briana Mercola, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Briana Mercola and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.