Oh, the guilty pleasure! The reason for the existence of many. The mighty dark chocolate. But can diabetics consume this mighty gift from heaven? Well, let’s find out the answer, in this very article.
What would it be like to eat chocolate, and that too the dark one, and never have to give up on it? For those suffering from diabetes, everything that can be eaten isn’t really meant to be eaten. Apologies white chocolate fans, but it’s dark chocolate all the way this time. If you’re a diabetic, and have had the ultimate dream of having your personal chocolate factory, the good news is – bring it on. Not only are chocolate companies aiming on producing chocolates especially targeting advancement in health, they’ve also laid the brass-tacks to create chocolate products that are rich in compounds extremely healthy for the heart.
Medical veterans have finally found out that eating dark chocolate is perfectly okay for diabetics, for the simple reason that they have certain compounds that improve the condition of their heart. Dark chocolates that are made with minimal processing, contain cocoa powder and less-saturated fat, whereas, white chocolate is found to have none. Now, you’ll wonder, how can diabetics ear dark chocolates when they’re sweet, and well, are an unlikely weapon to fight against diabetes! To your surprise, this article explains how chocolate and diabetes can be friends. Hold on tight to every word that follows below, and hello, you’re not leaving the rest of the article unread, and rush to grab a chocolate bar right away.
Diabetes and Dark Chocolate: The Relation
With a great deal of discussion about foods that are okay for diabetics and the ones that aren’t, candies and chocolates made with dark chocolate have gained immense popularity all throughout. To start with, let us gain some insight with regards to what really is dark chocolate. Chocolate is created from cacao beans which go through the process of roasting and cracking. When cracked, the insides of the beans are crushed into a paste, often regarded as chocolate liquor, which is made to go through many refining procedures that make it smooth and silky. Since the processing of milk chocolate is entirely different from dark chocolate, and for the reason that milk chocolate contains milk, dark chocolate is considered to be lower in sugar, and contain more cocoa.
The question is, what makes dark chocolate a healthier bet then? Agreed it contains less sugar, but that isn’t it. The health benefits of dark chocolate come in the form of flavonoids, a type of antioxidant that promotes heart health. For the reason that cocoa beans are rich in these antioxidants, they are considered to be healthy, and can be eaten occasionally. What’s more, since diabetes is caused by an impaired insulin function, consumption of dark chocolate has depicted an acceleration of the metabolism of glucose of the diabetics’ bodies.
Not only this, dark chocolate is found to have lowered the cholesterol levels of many people suffering from diabetes, and dropped blood pressure of many others. There isn’t a scarceness of benefits of dark chocolate, and as for the answer to whether or not can diabetics eat dark chocolate, well then, yes, they very well can. However, there are some terms and conditions associated with it. You really cannot think of chocolate as a substitute to all your cholesterol-lowering, blood pressure maintaining, and repairing insulin medications. But to promote them, you can definitely eat a small dark chocolate bar everyday to keep common health ailments at bay.
Benefits of Dark Chocolate for Diabetics
Now, when we have figured out whether or not is dark chocolate good for diabetics, learning more about the many health benefits dark chocolate enfolds within are going to be an interesting read. Take a look at what all a chocolate bar can do for you, if consumed only a little on a daily basis:
- As discussed above, consuming dark chocolates in little amounts can help lower cholesterol levels. Note that, we aren’t talking about your favorite dark chocolate that is high in calories. We’re talking about dark chocolate rich in cocoa contents, flavonoids in particular, that cause cholesterol levels to slump down incredibly.
- Dark chocolate specially created for diabetics (the one rich in flavonoids) is a rich source of epicatechin, which is usually a bitter-tasting compound, known to help chiefly in fighting diabetes, strokes, and heart failure. However, due to its bitter taste, many chocolate companies don’t include it in their chocolates, and substitute the same with sugar and other sweetness supplements.
- While high blood pressure is often a complaint for many diabetics, after a few weeks of consumption of dark chocolate, many patients have found a noticeable drop in their blood pressure. Moreover, their blood vessels have been found to get easily dilated and relaxed as a result of increased nitric oxide levels, which was not the case earlier.
Bask in the cocoa, as now, you don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night and grab a chocolate bar from the fridge while everyone else is asleep. You can eat dark chocolate, and can eat it with pride, well in front of everyone. Don’t curb your desire, it’s time you chase your favorite flavor and be kind to your taste buds.
