New Harvard Study: Eating This Dessert May Lower Diabetes Risk by 21%

It’s the time of year when the opportunities abound to consume sugar and refined carbohydrates, like breads, cookies, and pretty-packaged boxes of candy. But with 40 million Americans managing diabetes—and another near-100 million at pre-diabetic borderline values without even knowing it—this might be the year when you finally feel motivated to resist those nasty sugars that hack away at your body’s ability to produce its own insulin.

The good news? One adored sweet may serve as a substitute that helps minimize diabetes risk. Just in time for the holidays, on December 4, 2024 researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan Medical School published a study in the prestigious British Medical Journal. Their findings suggest that savoring one type of chocolate may help cut your diabetes risk by more than one-fifth.

To conduct their study, the team of doctors specializing in metabolic science and public health collected data from 18,862 people with “incident Type 2 diabetes.” This means doctors had assessed these individuals’ blood glucose levels and recorded two consecutive results that indicated type 2 diabetes.

The researchers then analyzed the effects, comparing the blood sugar levels of:

• dark chocolate eaters
• milk chocolate eaters
• overall chocolate eaters
• never-chocolate eaters

Regular chocolate eaters reported consuming five or more servings of chocolate per week.

After comparing health metrics across these groups, the research team reports: “Increased consumption of dark, but not milk, chocolate was associated with lower risk of [type 2 diabetes].” In fact, they say, “Participants who consumed 5 or more servings per week of dark chocolate showed a significant 21% lower risk.” For each serving of dark chocolate consumed per week, patients saw a risk reduction of 3%.

The Harvard team explains that the high flavonoid content found in dark chocolate could explain the health boost. “Chocolate, derived from the beans of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), is among foods with the highest flavanol content,” they write. The researchers note that previous research has found that consumption of flavonoids has been linked to “antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilatory effects that might confer cardiometabolic benefits and reduce the risk of T2D, although data were not consistent.”

The chocolate-loving layperson might interject another possible explanation: That small daily dose of dark chocolate can take the edge off a sugar craving that would otherwise drive the individual to reach for cake, a cookie, or another sweet that would likely be higher in saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories and ingredients that increase bodily inflammation instead of quell it, as it’s suggested flavonoids may help do. This theory could help unpack another takeaway the reseachers found: “Increased consumption of milk, but not dark, chocolate was associated with long term weight gain.” Because with dark chocolate, a little block goes a long way.

In particular, the researchers say, opting for 100% cacao dark chocolate provides a naturally sugar-free treat that’s packed with the highest concentrations of flavanols. Always speak with a doctor or other licensed healthcare professional to learn healthy ways to improve your diet.

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