The influence of different concentrations of flavanol chocolate bars under acute supplement conditions on exercise and performance.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Copper (Supplement).

Plasma samples were collected prior to commencing exercise to determine nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) levels under each condition.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 15 participants taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and crossover.

Because people in this Copper (Supplement) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Copper (Supplement).

Each person switched between Copper (Supplement) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

During the SS cycle oxygen consumption ([Formula: see text]), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and heart rate (HR) were continuously monitored.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Athletic Performance, Chocolate, Dietary Supplements, Exercise, Heart Rate, Nitrates and Nitrites.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Cycling, Dark chocolate, Flavanol and Nitric oxide.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and crossover study of Copper (Supplement) in 15 participants.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 4 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2020 (European journal of applied physiology), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Copper (Supplement) compound page, all human trials.