Dark Chocolate & Diabetes

Cameron · Mar 23, 2005

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Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is a paper from researchers at University of L’Aquilla (Italy) who were comparing the benefits of dark chocolate against white chocolate. They report insulin resistance was significantly lowered when subjects ate dark chocolate. Experts believe adding milk and sugar to dark chocolate negates the natural flavanols. Experts have cautioned against diabetics from eating a diet of dark chocolate but many believe as a precaution in healthy people addition of dark chocolate may reduce the risk of damaging changes in the body that can lead to insulin resistance diabetes

Abstract available at < http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/3/611>

Cameron
Hey, what do I know?

admin · Dec 22, 2005

Dark Chocolate May Improve Endothelial Function in Male Smokers

Here is more on this topic as reported by Medscape:

Dec. 21, 2005 — Dark chocolate improves endothelial function in male smokers, according to the results of a randomized study reported in the January issue of Heart.

"The effects of chocolate on cardiovascular health are still a matter of debate," write F. Hermann, MD, from University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, and colleagues. "Chocolate may adversely affect cardiovascular risk because of its effects on glucose, lipids, and body weight or potentially favour cardiovascular health through antioxidative effects of chocolate ingredients, such as flavonoids (present in dark but not white chocolate)."

The objective of this study was to determine whether the beneficial antioxidant effect of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate could induce an improvement of endothelial and platelet function in healthy volunteers with known endothelial dysfunction and platelet hyperreactivity.

In this study, 25 male smokers were enrolled, and 5 chronic smokers underwent preliminary high-resolution ultrasound performed before and after ingestion of 40 g of dark chocolate and a 24-hour period of abstinence from polyphenol-rich food, such as black or green tea, onions, apples, cabbage, wine, and cocoa products. Endothelial function was reassessed by ultrasonography at 2, 4, 8, and 24 hours after chocolate ingestion.

Because of the positive results of the preliminary study, 20 subjects were randomized into 2 parallel groups. The investigators evaluated endothelial function and shear-stress–dependent platelet function at baseline, after 24 hours' abstinence from food rich in polyphenols, and 2 hours after ingestion of chocolate, either 40 g of dark chocolate or 40 g of white chocolate. Highly sensitive ultrasonography of the brachial artery was used to measure flow-mediated dilatation (FMD).

Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups, and no changes in glucose or lipids were detected 2 hours after chocolate ingestion. After 2 hours, dark chocolate improved FMD compared with baseline (7.0% ± 0.7% vs 4.4% ± 0.9%; P = .026), and this effect lasted about 8 hours. However, white chocolate had no effect on FMD.

Baseline arterial diameters were not different in the white and dark chocolate groups, and diameter did not change over time within groups. Vascular flow response did not change in either group nor was glyceryl-trinitrate–induced vasodilatation affected by either dark or white chocolate.

Two hours after dark chocolate ingestion, shear-stress–dependent platelet function decreased from 5.0% ± 0.6% to 3.2% ± 0.4% (P = .03 vs baseline), but there was no significant change after white chocolate ingestion. During the same time frame, total antioxidant status significantly increased 2 hours after ingestion of dark chocolate but not after ingestion of white chocolate (dark chocolate, 1.22 ± 0.02 vs 1.25 ± 0.02; P = .03, and white chocolate, 1.25 ± 0.04 vs 1.24 ± 0.03; not significant).

"Dark but not white chocolate induced a rapid and significant improvement of endothelial and platelet function in healthy smokers 2 - 8 hours after ingestion," the authors write. "The high flavonoid content of dark chocolate may potentially explain the mechanisms for the reduced platelet activation. Besides direct antioxidant capacities, flavonoids may influence 5-lipoxygenase activity and alter signal transduction pathways through antioxidant independent mechanisms."

The Swiss National Research Foundation funded the study. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Heart. 2006:92:119-120
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NewsBot · Feb 28, 2006

It helps blood pressure as well !!

Now there is some more good news for chocolate lovers:

Associated Press are reporting:
Study links chocolate to lower blood pressure

CHICAGO — Leave it to the Dutch to help demonstrate the health benefits of chocolate.

A study of older men in The Netherlands, known for its luscious chocolate, indicated those who ate the equivalent of one-third of a chocolate bar every day had lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of death.

The researchers say, however, it's too early to conclude it was chocolate that led to better health. The men who ate more cocoa products could have shared other qualities that made them healthier. Experts also point out that eating too much chocolate can make you fat — a risk for both heart disease and high blood pressure.

"It's way too early to make recommendations about whether people should eat more cocoa or chocolate," said Brian Buijsse, a nutritional epidemiologist at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, who co-authored the study.

Still, the Dutch study, supported by grants from the Netherlands Prevention Foundation, appears to be the largest so far to document a health effect for cocoa beans. And it confirms findings of smaller, shorter-term studies that also linked chocolate with lower blood pressure.

The findings, published in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, are based on data collected for more than a decade on Dutch men who were ages 65 and older in 1985. The long-running Zutphen Elderly Study has been used by other researchers to look for risk factors for chronic disease.

This time, researchers examined the eating habits of 470 healthy men who were not taking blood pressure medicine. The men who ate the most products made from cocoa beans — including cocoa drinks, chocolate bars and chocolate pudding — had lower blood pressure and a 50 percent lower risk of death.

The men ate the equivalent of about 10 grams of chocolate a day.

Cocoa beans contain flavanols, which are thought to increase nitric oxide in the blood and improve the function of blood vessels.

"This is a very important article providing epidemiological support for what many researchers have been observing in experimental models," said Cesar Fraga of the University of California Davis, who does similar research but was not involved in the new study.

Buijsse noted the men eating the most cocoa products were not heavier or bigger eaters than the men who ate less cocoa.

Could the study results apply to women?

"Our study consisted of elderly men," Buijsse said. "If you look at the other interventional studies, you see the same effects in men and women, younger people and older people. It may be the findings are generalizable to women, but you never know."
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NewsBot · Feb 28, 2006

The news just keep on getting better

...and now:
Chocolate Milk May Improve Recovery After Exercise

Feb. 27, 2006 — Chocolate milk is an effective postexercise drink that improves recovery, according to the results of a small, randomized trial reported in the February issue of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.

"Our study indicates that chocolate milk is a strong alternative to other commercial sports drinks in helping athletes recover from strenuous, energy-depleting exercise," coauthor Joel M. Stager, PhD, from Indiana University in Bloomington, said in a news release. "Chocolate milk contains an optimal carbohydrate to protein ratio, which is critical for helping refuel tired muscles after strenuous exercise and can enable athletes to exercise at a high intensity during subsequent workouts."

On 3 separate days, 9 male, endurance-trained cyclists performed an interval workout followed by 4 hours of recovery, and a subsequent endurance trial to exhaustion at 70% maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max). In a single-blind, randomized design, the men drank equivalent volumes of chocolate milk, fluid replacement drink (FR), or carbohydrate replacement drink (CR) immediately after the first exercise bout and 2 hours of recovery. The chocolate milk and CR had equivalent carbohydrate content. Primary endpoints were time to exhaustion, average heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, and total work for the endurance exercise.

Time to exhaustion and total work were significantly greater for chocolate milk and for FR trials than for CR trials, suggesting that chocolate milk is an effective recovery aid between 2 exhausting exercise bouts.

Study limitations include the possibility that the 4-hour recovery period limited the complete digestion of the complex carbohydrates contained in CR.

"The results of this study suggest that chocolate milk, with its high carbohydrate and protein content, may be considered an effective alternative to commercial FR and CR for recovery from exhausting, glycogen-depleting exercise," the authors write.

The Dairy and Nutrition Council, Inc, supported this study in part.

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006;16:78-91
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More from Medscape (free registration required)

NewsBot · May 24, 2006

It also helps you think

Reuters are reporting:
Chocolate may boost brain power
Wed May 24, 2006 02:35 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Chocolate lovers rejoice. A new study hints that eating milk chocolate may boost brain function.

"Chocolate contains many substances that act as stimulants, such as theobromine, phenethylamine, and caffeine," Dr. Bryan Raudenbush from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia noted in comments to Reuters Health.

"These substances by themselves have previously been found to increase alertness and attention and what we have found is that by consuming chocolate you can get the stimulating effects, which then lead to increased mental performance."

To study the effects of various chocolate types on brain power, Raudenbush and colleagues had a group of volunteers consume, on four separate occasions, 85 grams of milk chocolate; 85 grams of dark chocolate; 85 grams of carob; and nothing (the control condition).

After a 15-minute digestive period, participants completed a variety of computer-based neuropsychological tests designed to assess cognitive performance including memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem solving.

"Composite scores for verbal and visual memory were significantly higher for milk chocolate than the other conditions," Raudenbush told Reuters Health. And consumption of milk and dark chocolate was associated with improved impulse control and reaction time.

Previous research has shown that some nutrients in food aid in glucose release and increased blood flow, which may augment cognitive performance. The current findings, said Raudenbush, "provide support for nutrient release via chocolate consumption to enhance cognitive performance."
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robby · Jun 2, 2006

is this good news for all chocolate lovers out there!?

It had to be high quality dark chocolate (ie high coco solids 75% +) to have the 'beneficial' effects !

NewsBot · Mar 19, 2014

Press Release:
The precise reason for the health benefits of dark chocolate: mystery solved

DALLAS, March 18, 2014 — The health benefits of eating dark chocolate have been extolled for centuries, but the exact reason has remained a mystery — until now. Researchers reported here today that certain bacteria in the stomach gobble the chocolate and ferment it into anti-inflammatory compounds that are good for the heart.

Their findings were unveiled at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society. The meeting, attended by thousands of scientists, features more than 10,000 reports on new advances in science and other topics. It is being held at the Dallas Convention Center and area hotels through Thursday.

“We found that there are two kinds of microbes in the gut: the ‘good’ ones and the ‘bad’ ones,” explained Maria Moore, an undergraduate student and one of the study’s researchers.

“The good microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria, feast on chocolate,” she said. “When you eat dark chocolate, they grow and ferment it, producing compounds that are anti-inflammatory.” The other bacteria in the gut are associated with inflammation and can cause gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation. These include some Clostridia and some E. coli.

“When these compounds are absorbed by the body, they lessen the inflammation of cardiovascular tissue, reducing the long-term risk of stroke,” said John Finley, Ph.D., who led the work. He said that this study is the first to look at the effects of dark chocolate on the various types of bacteria in the stomach. The researchers are with Louisiana State University.

The team tested three cocoa powders using a model digestive tract, comprised of a series of modified test tubes, to simulate normal digestion. They then subjected the non-digestible materials to anaerobic fermentation using human fecal bacteria, according to Finley.

He explained that cocoa powder, an ingredient in chocolate, contains several polyphenolic, or antioxidant, compounds such as catechin and epicatechin, and a small amount of dietary fiber. Both components are poorly digested and absorbed, but when they reach the colon, the desirable microbes take over. “In our study we found that the fiber is fermented and the large polyphenolic polymers are metabolized to smaller molecules, which are more easily absorbed. These smaller polymers exhibit anti-inflammatory activity,” he said.

Finley also noted that combining the fiber in cocoa with prebiotics is likely to improve a person’s overall health and help convert polyphenolics in the stomach into anti-inflammatory compounds. “When you ingest prebiotics, the beneficial gut microbial population increases and outcompetes any undesirable microbes in the gut, like those that cause stomach problems,” he added. Prebiotics are carbohydrates found in foods like raw garlic and cooked whole wheat flour that humans can’t digest but that good bacteria like to eat. This food for your gut’s helpful inhabitants also comes in dietary supplements.

Finley said that people could experience even more health benefits when dark chocolate is combined with solid fruits like pomegranates and acai. Looking to the future, he said that the next step would be for industry to do just that.
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Cameron Well-Known Member

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