Food
Flavanol-rich cocoa may support vascular function and mood endpoints.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Superscript reference numbers link to the Sources bibliography.
Composite Rating
Blends evidence depth, community direction, safety friction, and completeness.
Evidence Intensity
100/100
High depth from human/RCT/meta counts
Community Direction
0
Mixed / Neutral • confidence Minimal
Safety Friction
47/100
Moderate signal from adverse/interaction markers
Data Completeness
100%
Studies 16 • mentions 0 • links 25
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Classification: case-dependent.[1074,1192,2036, etc.]
Best fit: Users seeking lower-sugar dessert substitution..[1074,1192,2036, etc.]
Goal alignment: Heart Health, Mood, Cognitive.[1074,1192,2036, etc.]
Classification
Case Dependent
Evidence Tier
HIGH
Best Fit
Users seeking lower-sugar dessert substitution.
Primary Focus
Heart Health, Mood
Clinical Depth
Humans: 452 • RCTs: 175 • Meta: 10
Cohort / Real-World
Cohort signals: 31
Safety Markers
Adverse signals: 10 • Interactions: 0
Freshness, trend, and study timeline for this item
Status
Trend
→ Stable evidence base
Depth
452 total studies · 5 recent
Timeline
Total indexed
452
Human studies
452
Randomized trials
175
In vitro / tissue
52
Cohort signals
31
Meta-analyses
10
Weighted direction score: 0 (Mixed / Neutral)
High when there are >=2 human meta-analyses, or strong human trial/cohort volume with substantial human literature.
Total indexed
452
Human studies
452
Randomized trials
175
In vitro / tissue
52
Cohort signals
31
Meta-analyses
10
Safety adverse signals
10
Animal-only studies
0
Distribution of evidence by study design strength
Evidence Strength: High
PMID 38931273 • 2024 Jun 18
Effects of Cocoa Consumption on Cardiometabolic Risk Markers: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Nutrients
Open PubMedPMID 27683874 • 2016 Nov
Cocoa Flavanol Intake and Biomarkers for Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
J Nutr
Open PubMedPMID 37211619 • 2023 Sep
Effects of chocolate on cognitive function in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis on clinical trials.
Phytother Res
Benefit reports: 0
Adverse reports: 0
No-effect reports: 0
Mixed reports: 0
Unclear reports: 0
Signal confidence: 0.00
Benefits
Adverse
No Effect
Community confidence 0.00 with mentions: benefit 0, adverse 0, no-effect 0.
Search fetch failed: Failed to fetch after retries: https://old.reddit.com/search.json?raw_json=1&sort=relevance&t=year&limit=8&q=%22dark%20chocolate%22%20(diet%20OR%20nutrition%20OR%20meals%20OR%20side%20effects%20OR%20experience%20OR%20results)%20(subreddit%3Anutrition%20OR%20subreddit%3AScientificNutrition%20OR%20subreddit%3Aloseit%20OR%20subreddit%3AMealPrepSunday%20OR%20subreddit%3Aketo%20OR%20subreddit%3Afasting%20OR%20subreddit%3Amediterraneandiet%20OR%20subreddit%3Avegan%20OR%20subreddit%3Avegetarian%20OR%20subreddit%3Acarnivorediet%20OR%20subreddit%3Abiohackers%20OR%20subreddit%3Alongevity)
aggregate • unclear
No directional first-hand mentions captured in the current community corpus; source links are retained for traceability.
Open mentionEvidence Sources
PUBMED • Humans + preclinical triage
Counts from structured PubMed query set for diet/intake context.
Outcome: Humans 452, RCT 175, meta 10, cohort 31.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2024 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 38931273 from Nutrients.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[, etc.]
No directional mention volume was resolved; fallback profile metadata is shown in other sections.
Composite of study volume, RCTs, and meta-analyses
PMID 21559039 • 2011 Aug
Effects of cocoa products/dark chocolate on serum lipids: a meta-analysis.
Eur J Clin Nutr
Open PubMedPMID 31524216 • 2019 Oct 16
Dose-response relationship between cocoa flavanols and human endothelial function: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.
Food Funct
Open PubMedPMID 38925412 • 2024 Sep
Effect of dark chocolate/ cocoa consumption on oxidative stress and inflammation in adults: A GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of controlled trials.
Complement Ther Med
Open PubMedPMID 34530112 • 2022 Jan
Consumption of 85% cocoa dark chocolate improves mood in association with gut microbial changes in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial.
J Nutr Biochem
Open PubMedPMID 36102337 • 2023 Apr
Effects of cocoa extract and a multivitamin on cognitive function: A randomized clinical trial.
Alzheimers Dement
Open PubMedPMID 36561325 • 2022
Dark Chocolate Intake May Reduce Fatigue and Mediate Cognitive Function and Gray Matter Volume in Healthy Middle-Aged Adults.
Behav Neurol
Open PubMedPMID 37128985 • 2023 May 22
Cocoa flavanol supplementation preserves early and late radial artery function after transradial catheterization.
Food Funct
Open PubMedPMID 40284238 • 2025 Apr 18
Dark Chocolate Mitigates Premenstrual Performance Impairments and Muscle Soreness in Female CrossFit(®) Athletes: Evidence from a Menstrual-Phase-Specific Trial.
Nutrients
Open PubMedPMID 39776521 • 2024
Effects of short-term, high-dose cocoa-derived flavanol supplementation on gut microbiota composition: secondary findings from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study.
J Nutr Sci
Open PubMedPMID 39631943 • 2024 Dec 4
Chocolate intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort studies.
BMJ
Open PubMedPMID 24360219 • 2013 Dec 20
Consumption of chocolate in pregnant women and risk of preeclampsia: a systematic review.
Syst Rev
Open PubMedPMID 26514936 • 2016 Apr
Cocoa Flavanol Cardiovascular Effects Beyond Blood Pressure Reduction.
J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich)
Open PubMedPMID 29795238 • 2019 May
Intake of cocoa products and risk of type-2 diabetes: the multiethnic cohort.
Eur J Clin Nutr
Open PubMedFallback search fetch failed: Failed to fetch after retries: https://old.reddit.com/search.json?raw_json=1&sort=relevance&t=year&limit=12&q=dark%20chocolate
Community Sources
PUBMED • 2016 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 27683874 from J Nutr.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2023 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 37211619 from Phytother Res.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2011 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 21559039 from Eur J Clin Nutr.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2019 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 31524216 from Food Funct.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2024 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 38925412 from Complement Ther Med.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2022 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 34530112 from J Nutr Biochem.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2023 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 36102337 from Alzheimers Dement.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2022 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 36561325 from Behav Neurol.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2023 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 37128985 from Food Funct.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2025 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 40284238 from Nutrients.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2024 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 39776521 from J Nutr Sci.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2024 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 39631943 from BMJ.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2013 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 24360219 from Syst Rev.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2016 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 26514936 from J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich).
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2019 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 29795238 from Eur J Clin Nutr.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[2036,2258,2538, etc.]
Open source