Dark chocolates are good for diabetics! Time to celebrate it.
The rising number of diabetes cases aside, or the 1.6 million deaths this disease claims every year, one would think that this would mean a decrease in the overall consumption of one of the most widespread representation of sugar or sweets in general: chocolates. It didn’t, in fact, chocolate consumption actually rose every year.
While this trend is somewhat alarming, it comes with a silver lining. Dark chocolate, or those with 50% and up cocoa content, has been discovered to possess several medicinal qualities that can immensely benefit people with a sweet tooth. We’ve gathered five health benefits that you can get from eating dark chocolate bars daily… in moderation, of course.
- Powerful Source of Antioxidants
Unprocessed cocoa beans and dark chocolate are among the most potent sources of antioxidants in the world, surpassing even blueberries and the widely-recognized superfood Acai berries. Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants that include polyphenols, flavanols, catechins, among others. Antioxidants are important because they fight free radicals that destroy living cells, induce premature aging, and whose presence alone causes an increase in risks of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.
- Dark Chocolate is Nutritious
Being a powerful source of antioxidants aside, chocolate also has several other medicinal qualities despite it being equated with diabetes or obesity. Well, the sweeter and milkier variant, at least. The more bitter and flavorful one, dark chocolate is actually filled to the brim with minerals such as magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium. It also has a decent amount of soluble fiber and small amounts of sugar.
- Can Help Increase Sensitivity to Insulin
A study in 2005 that was published in the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition claimed that dark chocolate can help improve the insulin sensitivity and resistance of the body whereas white chocolate (0% cocoa, all cocoa butter) cannot. The study tasked 15 healthy participants to randomly eat either dark or white chocolate bars for 15 days, another seven days for a washout phase, and then a crossover to the other chocolate.
- Can Lower Blood Pressure by 2-3 Points
People with hypertension, normally those who are advised to cut back on all kinds of tasty and flavorful food, will be very glad to learn that dark chocolate can lower blood pressure by as much as 2-3 points. A Harvard study that analyzed 24 chocolate studies that involved 1106 people found out that dark chocolate bars that contain at least 50-70% cocoa lowered the blood pressure of all the participants. The most significant decrease, however, were to those with hypertension. The study also found out that chocolate increased the insulin sensitivity of the participants.
- Increase Good Cholesterol and Reduce the Bad
When taken in moderation, dark chocolate can also be very beneficial to your heart. A study conducted at the San Diego State University and presented at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting found out that eating dark chocolate, other than helping lower the blood sugar levels of a person, can also reduce the body’s “bad” cholesterol levels and increase that of “good” cholesterol.
Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
You don’t need to give up your chocolate fixation even if you’re already diagnosed as diabetic. Sure, you need to massively cut down on almost everything flavorful and tasty, like chocolates, and adhere to an active lifestyle plan your doctor would suggest. But that doesn’t mean goodbye to your favorite sweets.
Just be sure it’s not milk chocolate. Or god forbid, white chocolate (shudders).
