The study, which tracked more than 100,000 participants, examined the relationship between chocolate consumption and type 2 diabetes risk in the United States, distinguishing between milk and dark chocolate. Surprisingly, research revealed that dark chocolate significantly decreased the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 21% when compared to milk chocolate.
The discovery that those who had five or more servings of dark chocolate per week had a 10% lower risk of contracting the disease than those who ate no chocolate at all or very infrequently was even more startling. Eating milk chocolate did not significantly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Nevertheless, additional research showed that eating one serving of dark chocolate every week decreased the incidence of type 2 diabetes by about 3%. Milk chocolate, on the other hand, was only observed to gain weight with time—an effect that its bitter counterpart did not exhibit.
Milk chocolate consumers also appeared to consume fewer nutritious foods and beverages, but dark chocolate consumers consumed more foods high in flavan-3-ols, such as tea and blueberries. Dark chocolate’s abundance of health-promoting flavanols is thought to be the cause of its influence on type 2 diabetes.
Notwithstanding the advantages these chemicals offer for cardiometabolic health, the association between dark chocolate and a lower risk of diabetes has generated controversy among medical experts because many studies have not differentiated between different types of chocolate or taken into consideration variations in the amount of milk and sugar in the chocolate.
Previous studies provide hints about the sweet benefits of dark chocolate, with some explained that it can improve blood flow to the brain and work in concert with neurotransmitters to support cognitive function and prevent memory loss. Consuming dark chocolate and other foods high in flavonoids, including red wine and berries, may potentially reduce the risk of dementia by an astounding 28%, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.
