Chocolate for Your Sweetheart May Offer Health Benefits

If you are considering giving your Valentine some chocolate this year, don’t count out chocolate as an option. A recent study shows that eating 100 grams of chocolate each day, or the equivalent of about one bar of chocolate, could have multiple health benefits.

This small amount of chocolate has been shown to improve liver enzyme levels and reduce insulin resistance. And reducing insulin sensitivity has the added benefit of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Who knew that such a yummy treat could be potentially healthy too?

Futurity: “Given the growing body of evidence, including our own study, cocoa-based products may represent an additional dietary recommendation to improve cardio-metabolic health,” says Saverio Stranges, visiting academic at the University of Warwick Medical School.

Stranges says the findings could lead to recommendations by healthcare professionals to encourage individuals to consume a wide range of phytochemical-rich foods, including dark chocolate in moderate amounts.

It’s important, researchers say, to differentiate between the natural product cocoa and the processed product chocolate, which is an energy-dense food. Further, physical activity, diet, and other lifestyle factors must be carefully balanced to avoid detrimental weight gain over time.

Be sure to check out the page about Chocolate to learn more about this fascinating food.

Resource Links

Futurity: Can Chocolate Every Day Protect Your Heart?

University of Warwick: Eating chocolate each day could reduce heart disease and diabetes risk

Daily chocolate consumption is inversely associated with insulin resistance and liver enzymes in the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg study