Chocolate consumption and its relation to risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background: There is a substantial interest in the potential role of chocolate consumption and its association with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to examine the association of consumption of chocolate with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods: A case control study was conducted at PSG Hospitals between 1st June 2017 and 1st July 2017. All those who had newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and attended Department of Endocrinology for follow-up visit were the cases and the relatives accompanying them without the history of diabetes were the controls. Chocolate consumption and other dietary factors were elicited. The mediating factors studied were age, sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), educational levels, smoking status, alcohol consumption, family history of diabetes, potassium intake, magnesium intake and use of statins.Results: After adjusting the potential confounders, chocolate consumption was inversely associated with risk of type 2 diabetes (p<0.05) with odds ratio of 0.564 (95% CI = 0.32 - 0.98).Conclusions: Our findings suggest that moderate consumption of chocolates (preferably 1 to 2) per week has a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Potential applications of this knowledge include recommendations by health care professionals to encourage individuals to consume a wide range of phytochemical rich foods include chocolates in moderate amounts. The results from our study also suggest that adjusting for mediating factors did not alter the results and hence other unknown factors may explain inverse relation between chocolate consumption and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Functional chocolate: exploring advances in production and health benefits

“…Some chocolate varieties have been linked to lower blood pressure and increased insulin sensitivity in healthy people (Grassi et al, 2005(Grassi et al, , 2008Matsumoto et al, 2020;Kawakami et al, 2021). According to a randomised crossover study involving 20 middle-aged Japanese volunteers, the consumption of dark chocolate was associated with blood pressure-lowering effects (Matsumoto et al, 2020). Another study aimed to evaluate short-term changes in children's blood pressure by providing dark chocolate to schools.…”

“…A recent study suggests that dark chocolate supplementation, combined with jump rope exercise, may positively affect inflammatory markers, adipokines and body composition in obese adolescent boys (Eskandari et al, 2020). Some chocolate varieties have been linked to lower blood pressure and increased insulin sensitivity in healthy people (Grassi et al, 2005(Grassi et al, , 2008Matsumoto et al, 2020;Kawakami et al, 2021). According to a randomised crossover study involving 20 middle-aged Japanese volunteers, the consumption of dark chocolate was associated with blood pressure-lowering effects (Matsumoto et al, 2020).…”

“…Several studies have examined the relationship between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chocolate consumption (Mathew et al ., 2017; Oliveira et al ., 2022). According to a study, findings indicate that sugar‐free dark chocolate sweetened with stevia, erythritol and inulin leads to a decrease in postprandial blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes and that sugar‐free chocolates can be used as a potential benefit for glucose control in these individuals (Oliveira et al ., 2022).…”