Chocolate, yes, but better dark and with little sugar. According to research published in ‘The BMJ‘Consuming dark chocolate could be associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (DB2).
Made by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health (USA), research revealed that people who consumed at least five servings of black chocolate per week had a 21% lower risk of developing diabetes, while those who consumed five servings of any type of chocolate (including milk chocolate) showed a more modest reduction of 10%.
However, milk chocolate consumption was linked to long-term weight gain, a known factor that contributes to the development of the disease. “Our findings suggest that not all types of chocolate are the same. For those who love chocolate, this is an invitation to opt for dark chocolate as a healthier choice,” he explained. Binkai Liulead author of the study.
The research analyzed data from more than 192,000 adult participants from the Nurses’ Health Studies I and II and of Health Professionals Follow-up Study for more than 30 years. At baseline, none of the participants had diabetes.
Over the analysis period, approximately 19,000 participants were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Of the more than 112,000 participants who specifically reported their consumption of dark chocolate and milk chocolate, nearly 5,000 were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Without milk
The results highlighted that consuming at least five servings of dark chocolate per week was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of T2D, also showing an additional 3% decrease in risk for each additional serving of dark chocolate consumed weekly. In contrast, milk chocolate did not show similar benefits and was also associated with sustained weight gain, a key risk factor for diabetes.
“We were surprised by the marked difference between the effects of dark chocolate and milk chocolate on the risk of diabetes and long-term weight management. says Qi Sun, author of the study and associate professor of the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology. “Although both types of chocolate have similar levels of calories and saturated fat, it appears that the rich polyphenols present in dark chocolate may counteract the effects of sugar and saturated fat on weight gain and diabetes risk. “It is an intriguing difference that deserves to be explored in depth.”
The researchers noted that average chocolate consumption among participants was relatively low compared to previously recorded national averages, indicating that the findings may not apply to people with much higher consumption.
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