By Butch Howard
A large new study suggests there might be good reasons to indulge in chocolate this holiday season: It found that people who regularly ate chocolate had a lower likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes.
But the findings came with an important caveat. It was only dark chocolate that was associated with a lower risk of developing the disease, not milk chocolate.
While many previous studies have examined the health effects of eating chocolate, the new study is one of the few to specifically compare dark and milk chocolate. It’s also one of the largest studies on the topic to date.
After taking into account things like age, exercise levels and other factors, the researchers found that people who ate at least five ounces of dark chocolate per week equivalent to five servings - had a 21 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared with people who rarely or never ate dark chocolate. For every ounce of dark chocolate that a person consumed per week, their risk of developing diabetes fell by three percent.
For milk chocolate, there was no apparent benefit for metabolic health. In fact, as people increased their intake of milk chocolate throughout the course of the study, their likelihood of gaining weight climbed, especially if they were already obese.
Both dark and milk chocolate contain high amounts of fat and, in many cases, sugar. But milk chocolate tends to have a lot more added sugar.
Dark chocolate contains a lot more cocoa - ground up cacao beans. As a result, it typically has several times the concentration of beneficial plant compounds called polyphenols, particularly one type known as flavonoids. These naturally occurring substances act as antioxidants and are found in many plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, tea and coffee. A number of studies have indicated that flavonoids might help protect against Type 2 diabetes by improving how our bodies respond to insulin and break down sugar as well as by protecting the beta cells that produce and release insulin from the pancreas.
Many studies have also suggested that flavonoids can lower the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
“In general, polyphenols have been demonstrated to be beneficial for diabetes biomarkers in randomized controlled trials,” said the lead author of the new study.
White chocolate contains no cocoa powder, and as a result it has little or no flavonoids or polyphenols. It also has the highest sugar content of any type of chocolate.
At least three other large studies have found that eating chocolate is associated with a reduced likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes. Two clinical trials found that assigning people to eat dark chocolate every day for two weeks lowered their blood pressure levels, improved their insulin sensitivity, and led to greater improvements in various markers of cardiovascular and metabolic health compared with people who were assigned to eat white chocolate.
The lead author of the new study. emphasized that while dark chocolate can be a healthy snack, it’s important to not overdo it. “The key message is balance but not excess,” she added. “The important thing to prioritize in your diet is nutrient-rich foods.”
You can identify dark chocolate by the percentage of cocoa solids. Dark chocolate contains at least 50 percent cocoa solids. Milk chocolate contains less than 50 percent cocoa solids, and white chocolate doesn’t contain any cocoa solids. (It contains cocoa butter, milk and sugar.) In general, the higher the content of cocoa solids, the less sugar.
A serving of chocolate is about one ounce, or roughly one square of chocolate. Experts recommend eating no more than one or two squares daily.