Good News For Chocolate Lovers: Study Reveals Eating Chocolate Every Day May Be Good For The Health

First Posted: May 02, 2016 05:00 AM EDT
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A number of people would protest to adding a little hint of chocolate to their diet because of fear that it may cause them a number of diseases. However, a new study has recently revealed that chocolates prevent type-2 diabetes and insulin resistance - a well-established risk factor to cardiovascular disease.

Researchers from the University of Warwick examined data from 1,153 people between the ages 18 to 69 who signed up for the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk in Luxembourg study, which is the first nationwide survey on heart disease risk factors. They have discovered that those participants who ate at least 100 grams or a bar of chocolate every day had lower insulin resistance and improved liver enzymes than those participants who did not.

The Telegraph reported that these researchers also found that those who claimed to eat chocolates every day were younger, more physically active and had higher levels of education than those who admitted to not eating chocolate on a daily basis. Professor Saverio Stranges, the lead author of the study and a a visiting academic at the Warwick Medical School and Scientific Director of the Department of Population Health at LIH in a press release said,"Given the growing body of evidence, including our own study, cocoa-based products may represent an additional dietary recommendation to improve cardio-metabolic health; however, observational results need to be supported by robust trial evidence."

Stranges also said that if a person chooses to consume chocolate as their primary source of antioxidant, it is highly important to differentiate natural cocoa and the more processed forms of chocolate. It was revealed that dark chocolate has half the sugar and four times the fiber than milk chocolate, Prevention reported.

According to Medical Daily, people must also monitor their physical activity and diet to balance their chocolate consumption in order to avoid weigh gain over time. Ala'a Alkerwi, another principal author said that it is also possible that chocolate consumption may represent an overall ma marker for a cluster of favorable socio-demographic profiles, healthier lifestyle behaviors, and better health status. "This could explain, at least in part, the observed inverse associations with insulin and liver biomarkers," Alkerwi explained.

In the Unites States, more than 610,000 people die of heart disease every year which makes it the nation's leading cause of death. Insulin resistance, which can be reduced by chocolate, is one of the major causes of heart disease that is often taken for granted because of other contributing factors like obesity. The researchers wrote that it's important to conduct further studies on the effects of chocolate on both insulin resistance and liver enzymes, so the sweet treat's beneficial effects can be confirmed.

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