Isn't that sweet: How eating dark chocolate can reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes

The holiday season is almost here and if you are craving chocolates already, it might not be such a bad idea to indulge yourself in the sweet goodness. In fact, eating dark chocolate may even offer health benefits.

A study recently published in The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has linked consuming dark chocolate with a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This research adds to previous works suggesting an association between eating dark chocolate and a lowered risk of health conditions like heart disease and high blood pressure.

Let’s take a look.

How the study was conducted

Researchers analysed data from about 192,000 adults in the United States, who filled out diet questionnaires for over 30 years.

They answered several questions including how much and what type of chocolate they ate, as per NPR. Participants also reported their diabetes status, body weight, physical activity, and other lifestyle habits over the period.

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None of them had diabetes when the study started.

By the end of the study, about 19,000 participants developed type 2 diabetes. In the group of 112,000 participants who reported chocolate intake, 5,000 developed the condition, noted Healthline.

Findings of the study

The researchers, after taking into account many factors such as age, family history of diabetes , alcohol consumption and exercise, found that people who consumed at least five servings of any chocolate each week were 10 per cent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to those who rarely or never ate chocolate.

As per New York Times (NYT), after analysing data from 112,000 people who reported on the type of chocolate they consumed, researchers concluded that those who consumed five ounces of dark chocolate per week had a 21 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

For every serving of dark chocolate consumed per week, the risk of developing diabetes fell by three per cent, The Washington Post reported citing the study.

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Participants who consumed milk chocolate had no reduction in the risk of developing diabetes. Moreover, researchers noted that they were more likely to gain weight during the study.

Milk chocolate vs dark chocolate

Dark chocolate contains more cocoa as compared to white chocolate, which often has more added sugar.

Dark chocolate is rich in plant chemicals called flavanols, which are antioxidants that could reportedly help lower inflammation and lower insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes.

“Our findings suggest that not all chocolate is created equal,” Binkai Liu, a doctoral student at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said in a statement, as per Independent. “For anyone who loves chocolate, this is a reminder that making small choices, like choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate, can make a positive difference to their health.”

“Even though dark and milk chocolate have similar levels of calories and saturated fat, it appears that the rich polyphenols in dark chocolate might offset the effects of saturated fat and sugar on weight gain and diabetes. It’s an intriguing difference that’s worth exploring more,” Dr Qi Sun, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the lead investigator on the study, said.

Polyphenols, which are chemical compounds found in plants, have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Don’t go overboard

Experts say the study does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship, meaning the dark chocolate itself was what reduced the risk of diabetes and not something about the participants.

Dr Susan Spratt, a professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition at the Duke University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told NYT that those who consumed dark chocolate could have been healthier in other ways.

Dark chocolate should not be seen as a “magic bullet” to prevent diabetes, Dr Qi Sun said.

“We can’t say for certain that eating dark chocolate will lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. We can say that eating it is associated with a lower risk. But we don’t want people to overinterpret the results,” Liu was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.

Too much of anything is bad and that applies to dark chocolates. Eat but in moderation.

With input from agencies