A STEAMING mug of a soothing festive drink could protect your heart from the damage done by fatty comfort foods we gorge on when stressed, new research suggests. What we eat when we're under strain can influence how much stress affects our heart health, experts say. Advertisement 1 A cup of hot cocoa could help protect your heart from the effects of stress eating Credit: Getty But now a small study has found that sipping on hot chocolate could temper some of this impact.
Cocoa - the key ingredient in chocolate - is particularly high in flavanols . These are compounds found in some foods and drinks, like apples and tea. Flavonols are thought to have a range of different health benefits , like regulating blood pressure and protecting cardiovascular health.
Advertisement Read more on heart health SLEEP ON IT Symptom of deadly heart failure noticeable in bed - and 3 other missable signs QUIT IT The time it takes for an ex-smoker's heart to return to normal & 5 other benefits If you tend to reach for fatty treats for a quick fix or to combat stress, adding a cup of minimally processed cocoa "could make a real difference" to your health, researchers said. A cup of green tea - also rich in flavonols - could have similar benefits. Dr Catarina Rendeiro, the study's lead author and an assistant professor in nutritional sciences at the University of Birmingham, said: "We know that when people are stressed, they tend to gravitate towards high-fat foods.
"We have previously shown that fat.