Cocoa Supplements Don’t Improve Exercise-Related Digestive Issues in Endurance Athletes
Tabone et al. found that cocoa had no significant effects on
serum and fecal metabolites and that its consumption had little impact on the
metabolome after a bout of physical exercise. Image credit: Sci-News.com.
“Performing
vigorous or intense exercise can cause digestive upset for some people,” said
Universidad Europea de Madrid researcher Dr. Mar Larrosa and colleagues.
“The symptoms can include nausea, heartburn, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.”
“In
the worst cases, symptoms are so bad that athletes stop what they’re doing and
drop out of competitions.”
“Previous
studies have suggested that long-term cocoa consumption could alleviate these
issues because of the tasty substance’s high level of flavonoids.”
“These
compounds can enhance antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and have been
shown to have prebiotic effects on beneficial gut microbes in animal studies.”
“However,
chronic consumption of cocoa powder by humans to reduce exercise-related
digestive problems hasn’t been investigated in a standardized way.”
Dr.
Larrosa and co-authors wanted to develop a highly controlled but also realistic
human trial to assess whether cocoa could help.
They
conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled study of 54 physically fit male
athletes who followed a strict training routine over 10 weeks.
During
that time, the participants supplemented their regular diets with either
flavonoid-rich cocoa or a placebo starch powder mixed into semi-skim milk, which
they drank daily at breakfast.
At
the beginning and the end of the training period, they underwent a
high-endurance running test.
Their
gastrointestinal symptoms did not change in either supplementation group,
indicating the cocoa did not improve exercise-induced digestive complaints.
Finally,
the researchers found only slight effects on the composition of the gut
microbiome and plasma and fecal metabolites.
“Although
the athletes’ diets, which included a high amount of fruits and vegetables,
could have masked a small effect of the cocoa, cocoa is not an effective
exercise supplement for suppressing gastrointestinal problems or changing the
overall gut microbiome of endurance athletes,” they said.
The results were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry._____
Mariangela Tabone et al. 2022. Chronic Consumption of Cocoa Rich in Procyanidins Has a Marginal Impact on Gut Microbiota and on Serum and Fecal Metabolomes in Male Endurance Athletes. J. Agric. Food Chem 70 (6): 1878-1889; doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c07547
