Everything About the Incredible Miracle of Chocolate and Its Role in Preventing Diabetes!

Monday, March 17, 2025  Read time1 min

SaedNews: Research on dark chocolate's health effects has been extensive but contradictory. While it offers cardiovascular benefits, potential harms exist. A new study suggests that regular consumption may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Everything About the Incredible Miracle of Chocolate and Its Role in Preventing Diabetes!

According to the Science & Technology service of SaedNews, researchers at Harvard University found that eating dark chocolate five times a week can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 21% compared to those who do not consume it at all.

Chocolate

The Link Between Regular Dark Chocolate Consumption and Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

In their study, researchers asked participants to complete specific questionnaires every four years. They examined the relationship between type 2 diabetes and chocolate consumption in 192,028 people and compared the effects of dark and milk chocolate in 111,654 people . Their findings showed that the benefits of dark chocolate were not present in milk chocolate. In fact, regular consumption of milk chocolate was linked to weight gain:

"Milk chocolate consumption was positively associated with weight gain. Compared to those who did not change their chocolate intake, an increase in milk chocolate consumption over four-year periods was linked to an additional 0.35 kg weight gain. However, increased dark chocolate consumption was not associated with weight change."

Overall, flavanols β€”a type of polyphenol antioxidant found in fruits and vegetablesβ€”are linked to improved heart health and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes . Dark chocolate, with 50-80% cocoa content , contains the highest levels of flavan-3-ol , providing 3.65 mg per gram of chocolate. In contrast, milk chocolate, which typically contains only 35% cocoa , has an average of just 0.69 mg of these beneficial compounds.

For this reason, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was 21% lower among individuals who consumed dark chocolate five times a week . However, increased consumption of milk chocolate was associated with long-term weight gain .

According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey , 11.1% of adults in the US regularly consume chocolate, but only 1.4% of them eat dark chocolate (chocolate containing 45% or more cocoa ).

These research findings have been published in the BMJ Journal .