 Older men and women are randomized to a single tablespoon of regular cocoa powder a day, experienced a significant improvement in muscle strains, muscle mass, and all four measures of physical performance. And no, the study was not funded by Hershey's. Unfortunately, the tastiest cocoa did not work as well. The control groups here were just given the same amount of highly dutched cocoa, alkalized cocoa, where some of the bitter compounds removed during the dutching process are the very flavonoids responsible for the benefits. But natural cocoa is so good it can improve walking performance in those with peripheral artery disease, not only by improving blood flow, but as muscle biopsies showed, by improving mitochondrial activity, this is consistent with improved mitochondrial structure as well in biopsies taken from people's quads, though this study was actually funded by Hershey's.