Chocolate Can Help Prevent Diabetes And Obesity

n a mouse study, led by Andrew P. Neilson of the Department of Food Science and Technology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, researchers discovered that a certain antioxidant in cocoa - the main ingredient in chocolate - prevented mice from gaining weight and lowered their blood sugar levels. 

This is not the only study to suggest that consuming chocolate can prevent such health conditions.

Italian researchers discovered that dark chocolate significantly improves markers of insulin sensitivity. It can also decrease fasting insulin and glucose levels, as well as insulin and glucose responses to the glucose tolerance test, according to diabetescare.net

In their study, published in the Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry, the investigators set out to determine exactly which flavanol may be responsible for preventing weight gain and lowering blood glucose levels.

For the research, the investigators assigned mice to one of six different diets for 12 weeks.

These consisted of high- and low-fat diets, and high-fat diets supplemented with either monomeric, oligomeric or polymeric procyandins (PCs) - types of flavanols. Mice were given 25 milligrams of these flavanols each day for every kilogram of their body weight (25 mg/kg).

The study, which involved three cocoa powders tested in a model digestive tract, may help explain why chocolate has been found to be so good for your heart, as the anti-inflammatory compounds may reduce inflammation of cardiovascular tissue. The study's lead author explained:

"In our study we found that the fiber is fermented and the large polyphenolic polymers are metabolized to smaller molecules, which are more easily absorbed. These smaller polymers exhibit anti-inflammatory activity... When these compounds are absorbed by the body, they lessen the inflammation of cardiovascular tissue, reducing the long-term risk of stroke."

The researchers suggested that consuming cocoa along with prebiotics may be one way to encourage the conversion of polyphenols into highly absorbable anti-inflammatory compounds in your stomach.

According to previous research, the health benefits of chocolate may reach further than decreasing the likelihood ofobesity and type 2 diabetes. Medical News Today recently reported on a study claiming that eating 70 g of dark chocolate every day could reduce the risk of atherosclerosis - the thickening and hardening of the arteries.

But interestingly, this study did not attribute this benefit to the flavanols that chocolate contains. Study participants ate either regular dark chocolate or chocolate with added flavanols. Both types of chocolate had the same effect.

In the UK, there are some three million people living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and 850,000 more who are thought to have Type 2 diabetes but do not know it because they have not been diagnosed.

As many as seven million people are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and, if current trends continue, an estimated five million will have diabetes by 2025.

Professor Tim Spector, research collaborator from King's College London, said: "This is an exciting finding that shows that some components of foods that we consider unhealthy like chocolate or wine may contain some beneficial substances."

However, Dr Alasdair Rankin, Director of Research for Diabetes UK, said people should eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables such as berries, apples and pears, but should limit intake of red wine and chocolate as any health benefit would be outweighed by the calories and alcohol.