Dear Living Well Daily Reader,
If you’re diabetic, you’ve probably been told dessert is an indulgence of the past.
Well real dessert, anyways… you’ve still got the green light on sugar-free gelatin and tasteless baked goods chock-full of chemical sweeteners.
Who wants those anyway?
But as it turns out, lime Jell-O and Splenda-filled macaroons aren’t your only options…
Researchers have discovered there’s a decadent and delicious dessert snack that helps fight diabetes at its core.
This powerful food is chocolate (and I mean REAL chocolate, not the stuff in the candy aisle).
And because chocolate’s antioxidant levels are off the charts, it’s long been the subject of many health studies.
More recently, a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition discovered that chocolate can defend your body against two of the biggest risk factors for diabetes — insulin resistance and elevated liver enzymes.
For the study, researchers analyzed the chocolate consumption habits of around 1,200 people who were enrolled in a heart health study.
The aim of the study was to determine whether eating chocolate had an effect on insulin resistance, a condition that messes with your blood sugar and increases your risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
In addition, the researchers looked at what chocolate can do to your liver enzymes. Abnormal levels of liver enzymes are also a key driver of Type 2 diabetes.
Turns out that 81.8 percent of the subjects ate chocolate at a rate of 24.8 grams a day.
When they compared the chocolate eaters’ health stats to those of the nonchocolate-eating group… they were SHOCKED!
It turns out the chocolate eaters not only saw reduced insulin resistance; they also experienced an improvement in their liver enzymes.
But what was even more incredible… these results remained true even when they factored for age, sex, diet, education and lifestyle.
24.8 grams is about a fourth of an average-sized chocolate bar. This means eating just a tiny bit of chocolate a day can keep diabetes at bay!
And the good news keeps coming…
Another study found that folks who ate 100 grams of chocolate (an average-sized chocolate bar) a day lowered their risk of heart disease by 11 percent and lowered their risk of dying from heart issues by 25 percent.
While this is great news of anyone looking to ditch diabetic desserts, keep in mind not all chocolate is good for diabetics. Ultra-processed and extra-sugary varieties probably won’t help you fight diabetes.
Instead, look for organic chocolate varieties that have a cocoa content of 70 percent or more. This way, you can enjoy a real dessert and fight diabetes at the same time.
Live well,
Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily
P.S. Speaking of blood sugar…we need your advice. Do you suffer from diabetes or high blood sugar? Click here to take a short survey, and give us your input.
Ed. Note: Please send your feedback: nmoore@lfb.org – and click here to like us on Facebook.
Sources
[2] Abnormal Liver Function Test Predicts Type 2 Diabetes
[3] Habitual chocolate consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease among healthy men and women
