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Comparative Studies The more chocolate, the less diabetes?
Recent studies again show a positive correlation between chocolate consumption and numerous health parameters. For example, one study found the "inverse correlation" between chocolate consumption and type 2 diabetes: participants who never or rarely ate chocolate were nearly twice as likely to experience the 5-year follow-up to develop diabetes like subjects who chewed chocolate more than once a week
ate [1]. The same study group also showed improved cerebral performance with increasing consumption of chocolate, which was measured by numerous neuropsychological tests [2]..
In addition, weekly consumption of chocolate could have a positive influence on the elasticity of the blood vessels [3]. "The new observations fit seamlessly into the chain of previous chocolate studies, in which chocolate lovers consistently had better health parameters," explains nutritionist and author Uwe Knop, "so it must be no one afraid of the chocolate Santa Claus."
Chocolate of any kind tastes good, but also has the disadvantage that it contains a lot of fat. Scientists have now discovered a new process that can produce low-fat chocolate. (Image: Africa Studio / fotolia.com) Recent publications published in 2016 have shown that chocolate consumption is associated with a low risk of both cardiac circulatory disorders and myocardial infarction [4] as well as mental degeneration
is [5]. Furthermore, a study in the prestigious British Journal of Nutrition found that daily consumption of chocolate is associated with a decreased likelihood of insulin resistance [6], an indicator of pre-diabetes and a major risk factor of the metabolic syndrome.
Slim chocolate eaters
Not only in terms of health, chocolate studies provide surprising observations, including in terms of body weight: So revealed a recent large-scale analysis of 19 studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the scientific top journal of the American Society for Nutrition: The likelihood of obesity and Obesity was 18% lower in children and adolescents with the highest consumption of candy and chocolate than in "normal" (reference group) [7]. As early as 2014, a pan-European study showed that adolescents with high chocolate consumption have a lower body fat percentage and lower abdominal circumference compared to their peers with low chocolate consumption [8]. Researchers also observed a comparable "inverse correlation" in adults: the more chocolate, the lower the BMI [9]. As early as 2012, a study in the renowned New England Journal of Medicine provided the surprising connection: the more chocolate eaten in one country, the more Nobel Prizes there are. Thus, Switzerland was both the leader in chocolate consumption and in the receipt of Nobel prizes (per ten million inhabitants)..
Chocolate = 50% sugar
"To the chagrin of all chocoholics, unfortunately, no causality [cause-effect relationship] can be deduced from these correlations, for example 'chocolate prevents diabetes' or 'chocolate makes you thin'. Such conclusions do not permit nutritional studies. On the other hand, there are no harmful correlations that would justify a warning of 'bad chocolate', "says Knop. But with all the potential chocolate sides of chocolate enjoyment, one aspect is particularly peculiar due to the current "sugar tax debate"
Brisanz: chocolate consists of about half: sugar (about 50g in a 100g board [Ex: Photo p.3]). "A sugar tax, which would also make chocolate full, could be due to increased product prices
lead to reduced consumption of chocolate. In turn, theoretically, statistically speaking, this could lead to more cases of diabetes, increased insulin resistance and increasing body weight among Germans and Swiss citizens. Whether the sugar tax then also brings the Nobel Prize rate to its knees, that should also be critical
be discussed, "Knop recommends. Regardless of this, with regard to Christmas and its contemplative holiday chocolate products, it is important to know first of all that anyone who enjoys chocolate attentively can achieve a greater increase in their positive mood than the "careless, by-the-way" feeders - of course according to studies [11]..
Swell:
[1] Appetite. 2016 Oct 8; 108: 263-269; Habitual chocolate intake and type 2 diabetes
Mellitus in the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study: (1975-2010): Prospective
observations. NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST
[2] Appetite. 2016 May 1; 100: 126-32; Chocolate intake is associated with better
cognitive function: The Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study.
[3] Pulse (Basel). 2016 Jul; 4 (1): 28-37; Relation of Habitual Chocolate Consumption
to Arterial Stiffness in a Community-Based Sample: Preliminary Findings.
[4] Heart. 2016 Jul 1; 102 (13): 1017-22; Chocolate consumption and risk of myocardial
infarction: a prospective study and meta-analysis
[5] J Alzheimer's Dis. 2016 May 6; 53 (1): 85-93; Chocolate Consumption is Associated
with a Lower Risk of Cognitive Decline
[6] Br J Nutr. 2016 May; 115 (9): 1661-8; Daily chocolate consumption is inversely
associated with insulin resistance and liver enzymes in the observation
of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg study
[7] At the J Clin Nutr. 2016 May; 103 (5): 1344-56; Confectionery consumption and
overweight, obesity, and related outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic
review and meta-analysis. NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST
(At the J Clin Nutr: "The best clinical research journal in the nutrition field.")
[8] Nutrition. 2014 Feb; 30 (2): 236-9; Association between chocolate consumption
and fatness in European adolescents.
[9] Arch Intern Med. 2012 Mar 26; 172 (6): 519-21; Association between
more frequent chocolate consumption and lower body mass index.
[10] N Engl J Med. 2012 Oct 18; 367 (16): 1562-4. doi:
10.1056 / NEJMon1211064. Epub 2012 Oct 10.
Chocolate consumption, cognitive function, and Nobel laureates.
[11] Appetite. 2016 Sep 15; 108: 21-27; The sweet life: The effect of mindful
chocolate consumption on mood.