The choice may be bittersweet, but the evidence is clear: New research shows that dark chocolate can lower a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes.

People who ate at least five servings of dark chocolate a week had a 21% lower risk of the blood sugar disease, researchers found. Further, the more dark chocolate a person ate, the better — each serving provided a 3% additional reduction in diabetes risk.

On the other hand, eating milk chocolate was associated with long-term weight gain, which can increase risk of diabetes.

“Our findings suggest that not all chocolate is created equal,” said lead researcher Binkai Liu, a doctoral student with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition, in Boston.

“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,” Liu added in a Harvard news release.

For the study, his team analyzed health and diet data for about 192,000 health professionals taking part in two long-term research projects.

After three decades, nearly 19,000 of the participants had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Of the nearly 112,000 people who reported specifically on their dark and milk chocolate intake, nearly 5,000 were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

People who consumed at least five ounces of any type of chocolate each week had a 10% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers found.

But when researchers looked more closely, the data showed a clear difference between dark and milk chocolate.

The new study was published Dec. 4 in the BMJ.

“We were surprised by the clear split between dark and milk chocolate’s impact on diabetes risk and long-term weight management,” said researcher Qi Sun, an associate professor in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology.

“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,” Sun added. “It’s an intriguing difference that’s worth exploring more.”

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more on the health benefits of dark chocolate.

SOURCE: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, news release, Dec. 4, 2024

Source: HealthDay