Eating Chocolate may Help You Prevent Diabetes
Studies have shown that South Asians are at higher risk for Type 2 diabetes than almost any other ethnic group. As many as one in four South Asians in the United States suffer from the disease. If you’re trying to prevent diabetes, your doctor may recommend exercising regularly, following a healthy diet, and keeping your weight under control. And who knows, in a few years, your doctor may even encourage you to eat chocolate.
A new study from Harvard University suggests that consuming dark chocolate may reduce your risk of getting Type 2 diabetes by 21 percent.
“Our findings suggest that not all chocolate is created equal,” said the study’s lead author Binkai Liu. “For anyone who loves chocolate, this is a reminder that making small choices, like choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate, can make a positive difference to their health.”
To conduct their study, the researchers looked at health data collected over 30-plus years from 192,000 adult participants. They found that people who consumed at least five servings of dark chocolate per week showed a 21% lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. People who consumed milk chocolate did not get the same benefit. Instead, they just gained weight. Weight gain was connected to increased consumption of milk chocolate, but not dark chocolate.
“We were surprised by the clear split between dark and milk chocolate’s impact on diabetes risk and longterm weight management,” said the study’s co-author Qi Sun. “Even though dark and milk chocolate have similar levels of calories and saturated fat, it appears that the rich polyphenols in dark chocolate might offset the effects of saturated fat and sugar on weight gain and diabetes.”
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Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
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