A long-term US study found that consuming at least 5 servings of dark chocolate per week (1 serving equals a standard chocolate bar/pack or 1 oz) was associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to infrequent consumption. However, increased milk chocolate intake was associated with increased weight gain.
Consuming dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate may lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. Image credit: Sci.News.
The global prevalence of type 2 diabetes has increased significantly over the past few decades, with an estimated 463 million people affected worldwide in 2019 and projected to rise to 700 million by 2045. I am.
Type 2 diabetes is a multifactorial disease characterized by insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion, which can lead to a number of serious complications, including cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and vision loss.
A series of studies has highlighted the importance of lifestyle factors, such as a healthy diet, in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes.
Higher total dietary flavonoid intake, as well as specific flavonoid subclasses, is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
Randomized controlled trials have shown that these flavonoids exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilatory effects that may benefit cardiometabolism and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, but the data are inconsistent. It wasn’t.
chocolate made from beans cacao tree (Theobroma cacao)one of the foods with the highest flavanol content and a popular snack around the world.
However, the association between chocolate intake and risk of type 2 diabetes remains controversial due to inconsistent results obtained in observational studies.
For new research, Liu Binkai Researchers at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health combined data from three longitudinal U.S. observational studies of female nurses and male health care workers who had no history of diabetes, heart disease, or cancer at the time of recruitment. .
They investigated type 2 diabetes and total chocolate intake in 192,208 participants and 111,654 participants over an average 25-year monitoring period using food frequency questionnaires completed every 4 years. We analyzed the relationship between chocolate subtype (dark and milk) intake.
Because weight change strongly predicts type 2 diabetes risk, the researchers also used these food questionnaires to assess participants' total energy intake.
In the overall chocolate analysis, 18,862 people developed type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for personal, lifestyle, and dietary risk factors, the authors found that people who ate all types of chocolate at least five times a week were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who ate little or no chocolate. We found that the incidence was significantly lower by 10%. .
In the chocolate subtype analysis, 4,771 people developed type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for the same risk factors, those who ate dark chocolate at least five times a week had a 21% significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but there was no significant association with milk chocolate intake. was not found.
Researchers also found that each additional weekly intake of dark chocolate reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 3% (dose-response effect).
Increased milk intake was associated with long-term weight gain, but dark chocolate intake was not.
Dark chocolate has similar levels of energy and saturated fat as milk chocolate, but the high levels of flavanols found in dark chocolate reduce the risk of saturated fat and sugar for weight gain and other cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes. may offset the effects of
“Increased consumption of dark chocolate, but not milk, was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes,” the scientists said.
“Increased milk intake was associated with long-term weight gain, but dark chocolate intake was not.”
“Further randomized controlled trials are needed to replicate these findings and further investigate the mechanisms.”
of study What was posted this week BMJ.
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Liu Binkai others. 2024. Chocolate intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: A prospective cohort study. BMJ 387: e078386;doi: 10.1136/bmj-2023-078386
Source: www.sci.news
