If you really dig dark chocolate (and who doesn’t), then you’ve had a lot of good news in recent years. Scientists keep studying it, and they keep uncovering more and more benefits.
Dark chocolate fights heart disease, stroke and cancer. It lowers blood pressure, improves athletic endurance and boosts your brain function.
At this point you probably wouldn’t be surprised if a study came out saying that dark chocolate made you immortal.
But even in light of all this good news, the latest research on dark chocolate still somehow seems strangely exciting. That’s because dark chocolate helps prevent yet another chronic disease…and it’s one that typically requires maximum restraint when it comes to desserts, including chocolate.
A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that a daily dose of dark chocolate helps prevent diabetes and insulin resistance. But that’s not all…
The best part is that the study participants who experienced reduced insulin resistance weren’t rationed measly portions of dark chocolate… no siree — they were eating up to a 100 grams a day, which is about the size of a full chocolate bar.
This news is a godsend for both chocolate-lovers and those with blood sugar issues. And if you happen to be both, then mark this day in the history books, because this is the day you learned that something as tasty as chocolate could actually help rather than hurt your blood sugar.
I know, it sounds too good to be true, so let me explain why it is indeed accurate…
Dark chocolate is filled with polyphenols, which are disease-fighting antioxidants that protect your cells from dangerous free radicals. When your body is overloaded with free radicals but doesn’t’ have the antioxidants to fight them, it ends up in a state of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is the underlying cause of a lot of diseases, but especially cancer.
As if that wasn’t enough, polyphenols also help you maintain a healthy blood sugar by increasing your body’s insulin production, making your body more sensitive to insulin and allowing your cells to absorb more glucose.
In other words, polyphenol-rich dark chocolate is doing wonders for your blood sugar and your body… and it’s not too hard on the taste buds either.
But because insulin has such far-reaching effects as your body’s master hormone, there’s no telling what other positive health benefits you may be in for.
For example, the journal Metabolism reported that insulin was found to be a potential risk factor for lung cancer. 1 And in The American Journal of Pathology, it was reported that insulin levels in non-diabetic patients are independently linked to the development of colorectal, breast, uterine and prostate cancers. 2
Does that mean that balanced insulin can impact your health far beyond diabetes? You won’t hear that from your regular doctor, but many alternative health doctors and researchers believe so. To find out for yourself, click here to see what Dr. Michael Cutler has written about The Insulin Factor.
Source: Ala’a Alkerwi, Nicolas Sauvageot, Georgina E. Crichton, Merrill F. Elias, Saverio Stranges. Daily chocolate consumption is inversely associated with insulin resistance and liver enzymes in the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg study. British Journal of Nutrition, 2016; 115 (09): 1661 DOI: 10.1017/S0007114516000702
[1] Petridou ET, et al. “Insulin resistance: an independent risk factor for lung cancer?” Metabolism. 2011 Aug;60(8):1100-6.
[2] Cowey S, Hardy R, “The Metabolic Syndrome. The High-Risk State of Cancer?” The American Journal of Pathology. November 2006 Volume 169, Issue 5, Pages 1505–1522.
