Chocolate (Without the Sugar) is Good for Diabetics

There are a lot of benefits of chocolate… but the latest research shows that it may help regulate blood sugar!

Cacao stabilizes blood sugar; chocolate may actually help diabetics

“Obese, diabetic mice whose diet was supplemented with an extract of cacao liquor demonstrated a significant reduction in blood sugar levels in a Japanese study reported in the journal Nutrition. ‘The dietary intake of food or drinks produced from cacao beans might be beneficial in preventing the onset of Type 2 diabetes,’ the study’s authors wrote. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body becomes desensitized to the sugar-regulating hormone insulin. Type 1 diabetes is caused by an actual deficiency of insulin due to low production by the body. Both lead to high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). An estimated 7 percent of the U.S. population — 21 million people — have been diagnosed with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association further estimates that 6.2 million people remain undiagnosed and another 41 million are prediabetic. Researchers supplemented the diets of obese, diabetic mice with either 0, 0.5 or 1.0 percent cacao liquor proanthocyanidins (CLPr) — containing 72 percent polyphenols — for three weeks. They found that blood sugar was reduced in direct correlation with the dosage of CLPr. Proanthocyanidins are a type of flavonoid, a plant chemical known to have antioxidant properties. Previous studies have found evidence that eating flavonoid-rich chocolate reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. The current study, however, is the first to record an effect of cacao chemicals on blood sugar levels.”