Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston is currently conducting a study to assess the health benefits of flavanols found in cocoa as it relates to heart
attack and stroke prevention. Brigham and Women’s Hospital created a pill that extracts the cocoa flavanols and is examining the benefits in its 18,000 male and female volunteers. Flavanols in this pill have 10 times the amount that people would normally eat. Mars, Inc., the maker of M&Ms and Snickers, patented a way to extract the flavanols from cocoa and is co-sponsoring this study.