Effects of regularly consuming dietary fibre rich soluble cocoa products on bowel habits in healthy subjects: a free-living, two-stage, randomized, crossover, single-blind intervention

Table 4 Effects of consuming the soluble cocoa products were studied using subjective bowel function questionnaires (Mean values and standard error of mean (SEM), n = 44)

	Soft stools		Hard stools		Strain to have BM		Pain to have BM		Blood seen with BM
Stage	Mean	SEM	Mean	SEM	Mean	SEM	Mean	SEM	Mean	SEM
Non-cocoa	1.29	0.09	2.01	0.10	1.44	0.09	0.72	0.08	0.09	0.03
Cocoa product A	1.27	0.12	2.09	0.16	1.48	0.14	0.66	0.11	0.14	0.05
Cocoa product B	1.52	0.12	1.91	0.15	1.41	0.13	0.72	0.11	0.09	0.04
	N.S.		N.S.		N.S.		N.S.		N.S.

BM, bowel movement. A 4-point scale was used to answer where 0 = never, 1 = rarely, 2 = sometimes, 3 = frequently and 4 = always.
Effects were evaluated using a generalized estimating equations with repeated measures (stage) and one fixed factor (cocoa product) were applied. Where there was a significant main effect, post hoc Bonferroni tests were also used to analyse differences between means.

ISSN: 1743-7075