OK, cocoa lovers! Research has found that chocolate (especially the dark kind, which has more flavanoids than other types of the sweet stuff) may have special health benefits—such as boosting cardiovascular health and brain function and helping to reduce inflammation. And, according to this newest study, chocolate may even help in weight regulation.
The study—published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry—identified a certain combo of antioxidants in chocolate that helped mice have decreased appetites, lessen weight gain, and also decreased blood sugar levels...all of which could have implications in controlling type 2 diabetes and obesity in humans.
So these mice were fed a variety of different diets, each with different levels of sugar and fat. The mice that ate a high-fat diet that also included this specific set of compounds—called oligomeric procyanidins, which are most often found in dark chocolate—helped keep blood glucose levels under control.
There's still lots of research to be done (and, of course, the subjects were chocolate-eating mice), but it could still be interesting news for chocoholics out there.
So! What are your thoughts on this new possible benefit of chocolate?