If you eat too much fat, drink this immediately.

British scientists have found an interesting way to reduce the negative effects of high-fat meals.

A study from the University of Birmingham (UK) shows that consuming a delicious drink, rich in bioactive flavonoid compounds, enhances blood vessel function and maintains cardiovascular health during stressful periods, even after high-fat meals.

According to SciTech Daily, high-fat foods can impair blood vessel function and reduce oxygen supply to the brain.

Consuming a lot of foods in this group can have both immediate and long-term consequences on the body, which is to increase the risk of deadly cardiovascular problems, including events such as stroke and heart attack.

Cocoa may help reduce the harmful effects of high-fat meals.

In addition, the cardiovascular system is also negatively affected when people go through stressful periods.

But ironically, when stressed, people tend to reach for fatty foods, which can lead to cumulative harm.

Writing in the journal Food & Function, the authors said they recruited a group of healthy young volunteers.

They were fed a high-fat breakfast consisting of buttered croissants, salted butter, cheese, and whole milk.

Some people were given a cup of cocoa mixed with 12 grams of pure cocoa and 250 ml of milk; while others were given a cup of cocoa that had been treated to reduce the flavonoid content as a control.

During an 8-minute rest period and an 8-minute mental math test, volunteers measured forearm blood flow, cardiovascular activity, and prefrontal cortex tissue oxygenation, among other vascular function tests.

The results showed that drinking a cup of cocoa made with pure cocoa helped volunteers perform better on tests and have better cardiovascular indicators than the control group.

The benefits come from flavonoids, a group of compounds that are powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. Cocoa is one of the richest sources of flavonoids. Tea, berries, apples, and some other fruits also contain these bioactive compounds.

There's a side benefit: Cocoa itself is a beverage that many previous studies have shown to help reduce stress and the risk of depression.

So drinking cocoa when stressed can help you "kill two birds with one stone". Of course, to really benefit, try to resist the urge to indulge in something too fatty.