For years, people have viewed chocolate as a source of weight gain, but scientists have recently revealed facts that will change the general perception of this delicious substance, as chocolate will become the first ally of those who want to lose weight.
Recent research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, confirms that chocolate may help reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to what was published in the British newspaper “Daily Mail”.
Researchers found that cocoa, the main component of chocolate, contains antioxidants that can stop weight gain and lower blood sugar.
Researchers also confirm that there is evidence indicating that eating bitter chocolate increases the ability to concentrate, reduces appetite, and lowers blood pressure.
The study shows that the antioxidants found in cocoa can protect fermenter mice from gaining weight, and they also lower their blood sugar levels.
In a related context, Dr. Andrew Nelson and his colleagues explained in this study that cocoa, the main ingredient in making chocolate, is very rich in the antioxidant flavanols. Previous studies have shown that antioxidants help fight weight gain and type 2 diabetes.
However, not all types of flavanols have the same health benefits, and cocoa contains several types of this substance.
So the research team tried to find out the health benefits of each of the different types of flavanols.
For this purpose, the researchers took a number of mice, divided them into groups, and gave each group a different diet, including a high-fat diet, one low-fat diet, and another high-fat diet, while giving the mice different types of flavanols.
They found that adding a specific type of flavanols known as oligomeric procyanidins to food contributed to keeping the weight of the mice low despite their high-fat diet.
In this specific group of mice, which were given oligomeric procyanidins, the researchers noticed an increase in the rate of glucose tolerance in the mice, which may be useful in preventing type 2 diabetes.
In this context, researchers explained that oligomeric procyanidins are the best among all types of flavanols to fight obesity and diabetes.
This research comes directly after another research prepared by scientists from Louisiana State University that showed that bitter chocolate reduces blood pressure and strengthens heart health.
The researchers explained that bitter chocolate is beneficial because of the way our intestines ferment the fibers contained in cocoa beans.
In this context, researcher Maria Moore said: “There are two types of microbes in the gut: good microbes and bad microbes. The good microbes “enjoy” chocolate. When we eat bitter chocolate, the good microbes grow and ferment it, which produces anti-inflammatory compounds.”
These anti-inflammatory compounds enter the bloodstream and help protect the heart and arteries from harm
