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Chocolate lovers may be on to something. A new long-term study is trying to find out if taking daily, dietary supplements of cocoa extract containing cocoa flavanols and theobromine from the cocoa bean, and/or a standard multivitamin reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The study is being conducted in a partnership by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., and volunteers are being recruited nationwide.

The study, called COSMOS, “is the largest and longest duration dietary intervention trial to date that will investigate the impact of cocoa flavanols on risk of heart attack, stroke and death from cardiovascular disease,” explained lead investigator Dr. JoAnn Manson, who is also chief of the division of preventative medicine at the hospital. They will also be testing multivitamins to see if they have similar effects.

This national trial is conducted primarily by mail and can be done remotely. They plan to enroll 18,000 participants nationwide to participate in the study for four years.

Studies indicate benefit

Cocoa is a fermented product made from the bean of the cocoa tree, and preliminary research suggests it can have a powerful impact on your health.

Small randomized trials have demonstrated promising benefits for cocoa flavanols, including improving blood pressure, lipid (cholesterol) levels, and the body’s insulin sensitivity, which decreases the chance of getting Type 2 Diabetes.

For multivitamins, a prior large-scale randomized trial in middle-aged and older men showed a significant reduction in cancer, but comparable trial data in women are lacking.

On the plus side, participants can still eat chocolate.

For more information, visit www.cosmostrial.org/join or call 1-800-633-6913.