Unlike most delicious foods that negatively impact our health, a new study favors a key ingredient in most treats and it boasts several health benefits.
It’s a natural tendency to lean on junk food when you aren’t feeling your best, but the dangerous habit does little to battle anxiety or depression. However, a specific type of chocolate is supposedly good for your overall health.
Study determines the impact of cocoa on overall health
The latest research published in Nutrients Journal analyzes the effects of cocoa on participants with existing health conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol.
The trial involved over 1989 participants aged 18 or more, split into different groups based on the amount of cocoa consumed. The first group with 1,110 participants was made to eat cocoa extract or dark chocolate with at least 70 percent or more cocoa content for four weeks.
The rest of the participants consumed a placebo or white/milk chocolate with a cocoa content of less than 70 percent. The study notes that cocoa can be consumed in different variations without restrictions as “there is no clear definition of dark chocolate.”
However, it used the data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to categorize chocolates with high and low cocoa content for both groups.
It has several health benefits
At the end of the four-week study, participants who ate chocolates with higher cocoa content saw their health improve significantly compared to the control group that consumed white/milk chocolate.
Among those who consumed dark chocolate, there was an average reduction in total cholesterol, fast blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure.
The study concluded that “the consumption of cocoa showed protective effects on major cardiometabolic risk markers that have a clinical impact in terms of cardiovascular risk reduction.”
However, including cocoa in the diet did not affect body weight, BMI, and waist circumference. The results of the study further states:
“The consumption of cocoa as a dietary supplement in cocoa extract capsules or dark-chocolate products has a protective effect on most cardiometabolic risk markers evaluated in this analysis, including total cholesterol, LDL-c, fasting blood glucose, SBP, and DBP.”
“We recommend the consumption of cocoa rich in polyphenols as a cardioprotective approach,” the researchers noted.
