A type of chocolate reduces the risk of diabetes by 21%

Researchers have concluded that eating pieces of dark chocolate five times a week, while avoiding milk chocolate, was linked to a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The British news agency (PA Media) reported that the researchers said the relationship between chocolate consumption and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was "controversial", although they pointed out that most previous studies had not addressed the difference between types of chocolate.

The benefits of dark chocolate

The researchers added that types of chocolate - dark, milk and white - vary in their levels of cocoa, sugar and milk, which "affects the relationship with the risk of type 2 diabetes".

For this study, the research team used data from three long-running studies of nurses and healthcare workers in the United States.

The relationship between chocolate and diabetes

An analysis of questionnaires on the frequency of eating, conducted every four years, examined the relationship between type 2 diabetes and chocolate consumption in general in 192,028 people, and the type of chocolate - dark or milk - in 111,654 people, while the average monitoring period was 25 years.

As for the group whose chocolate consumption was analyzed, 18,862 people developed type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body does not use insulin well, leading to high blood sugar levels.

The most important results of the study

The researchers concluded that those who eat 28.3 grams of chocolate, at least 5 times a week, have a 10% lower chance of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to those who do not eat chocolate at all or rarely eat it.

The researchers found that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes among people who ate a piece of dark chocolate 5 times a week was 21% lower.