December 5, 2024 – Candy buyers take note.
If you are faced with the choice between milk and dark chocolate, another study shows that reaching for dark chocolate is probably the most favorable option.
People who ate at least five servings of dark chocolate per week had a reduced risk of development by 21% type 2 diabetescompared to people who rarely or never ate chocolate, a new study shows. Eating five servings of both types of chocolate weekly was associated with a 10% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to eating none.
“Our findings suggest that not all chocolate is equal,” said lead author Binkai Liu, a doctoral student in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, in an article. press release. “For anyone who loves chocolate, this is a reminder that making small choices, such as choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate, can make a positive difference to their health.”
The researchers noted that previous research on dark chocolate consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes has produced inconsistent findings on whether or not it is beneficial, and that few of those studies differ in milk chocolate versus dark chocolate intake. investigated.
The new one findings were published in the British Medical Journal BMJ and analyzed data from 192,208 nurses and healthcare workers who regularly reported their dietary habits via a survey and did not initially have type 2 diabetes. People who had that heart Problems were also excluded, as were people with cancer.
Study participants were asked how often they ate “one chocolate bar or packet,” and the researchers reported that they calculated each serving at 1 ounce, which they called a standard food portion. One ounce is the equivalent of a small piece of chocolate.
Not surprisingly, the more chocolate people ate, the more likely they were to gain weight, although the researchers said this was most pronounced among milk chocolate eaters.
“We were surprised by the clear separation between the impact of dark chocolate and milk chocolate on diabetes risk and long-term weight management,” said co-author Qi Sun, ScD, MD, associate professor of medicine, nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard. “Although dark chocolate and milk chocolate have similar amounts of calories and saturated fat, it appears that the rich polyphenols in dark chocolate may offset the effects of saturated fat and sugar on weight gain and diabetes. It’s an intriguing difference worth exploring further.”