Chocolate – A New Defense Against Diabetes?

August 16, 2005

The potential health benefits of chocolate are very much on people’s minds these days, perhaps because the notion that something that tastes so good might actually be good for you is almost too good to be true.

There’s been a lot of publicity in the medical journals lately focusing on the fact that chocolate and cocoa can be rich in flavonoids – the heart-healthy plant compound also found in red wine (which has been enjoying its own boost in recent years).

And now, there has been a study conducted primarily by Italian researchers concluding that eating dark chocolate that is rich in flavonoids may help to lower both cholesterol and blood pressure – and maybe even help the body process sugar more efficiently. And if it helps the body’s processing of sugar, that means that – go figure – dark chocolate actually might help to guard against the onset of diabetes.

These scientists are careful about the advice they’re giving consumers when it comes to chocolate consumption. For one thing, there are different kinds of chocolate with very different health benefits. Cocoa powder and baking chocolate usually are richest in flavonoids, followed by dark chocolate, followed by milk chocolate; white chocolate, which contains no cocoa (and technically not even chocolate) has no flavonoids. Chocolates that have been minimally processed are generally better for you, not just because it has more flavonoids, but also because it is lower in saturated fat.

But before you reach for that case of dark chocolates, remember that many chocolates are high in calories, and huge increases in consumption of chocolate almost certainly will result in weight gain – which will have its own negative health effects. So forget the case…but it may well be time to change the adage ”an apple a day…” to a “chocolate dipped apple a day...”