A bite or two of dark chocolate can make a long day feel guilt-free.
But you probably won’t feel guilty at all – even if you treat yourself five times a week.
One study found that eating dark chocolate may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes More than one fifth.
Researchers at Harvard University in the US tracked the consumption of chocolate in more than 300,000 healthy people for an average of 25 years each.
Dark chocolate is associated with a lower risk of disease, while those who eat milk chocolate are more likely to gain weight. And eating a few pieces five times a week may be the right amount, he said.
Chocolate contains high levels of flavanols – a compound found in fruits and vegetables – that have been shown to boost heart health and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The link between chocolate consumption and diabetes is ‘controversial’ due to the lack of consistency, although experts point out that many previous studies have not examined differences between types of chocolate.
These subtypes – black, milk and white – have different levels of cocoa, sugar and milk, which ‘may influence the association,’ he said.
Eating dark chocolate can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by more than a fifth, according to one study.
Chocolate contains high levels of flavanols – a compound found in fruits and vegetables – that have been shown to boost heart health and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The study, published in the BMJ, used studies on three long-term health care workers.
After adjusting for lifestyle and dietary factors, people who ate 28.3 grams of chocolate at least five times a week had a 10 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate no or no chocolate.
Diabetes UK says 4.4 million Britons have diabetes, while another 1.2 million don’t know they have it.
Dr Lucy Chambers, Diabetes UK, said: ‘Eating more dark chocolate may sound tempting, but while it can be enjoyed in moderation, we do not recommend it as a strategy to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.’
