Treating yourself to sugar can lower your risk of diabetes – the wrong kind will make you fat

Here’s some sweet news just in time for the holiday candy season.

Research published this week in the BMJ suggests that eating chocolate can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. But before you go cocoa – the study also had some caveats, showing that the wrong choice of chocolate can lead to excessive long-term weight gain.

“Our findings suggest that not all chocolate is created equal,” said lead study author Binkai Liu, a doctoral student in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

While dark chocolate had benefits, milk chocolate did not and had the downside of weight gain.

“For anyone who loves chocolate, this is a reminder that making small choices, like choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate, can make a positive difference in their health,” added Liu.

Her team analyzed data from 192,200 non-diabetic adults who shared their body weight and food intake. Nearly 112,000 reported eating chocolate.

During the three-decade study, almost 19,000 participants developed type 2 diabetes, including 4,800 chocolate lovers.

Researchers determined that those who ate five or more weekly servings of dark chocolate had a 21% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In turn, milk chocolate led to weight gain.

“We were most surprised by the stark contrast in the impact of dark and milk chocolate on diabetes risk and long-term weight management,” Liu told Healthline.

“Despite having similar energy and saturated fat levels, dark chocolate appears to offer protective effects, likely due to its rich polyphenol content,” Liu continued. “This intriguing difference highlights the potential role of polyphenols in shaping health outcomes and warrants further exploration.”

Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants found in plants that can fight inflammation, protect against free radical damage, and promote brain health.

Stephanie Schiff, a registered dietitian at Northwell Huntington Hospital, suggests choosing chocolate with at least 60% to 70% cocoa.

“It will be a little more bitter than milk chocolate, but it has a higher amount of flavonoids,” Schiff told The Post. Flavonoids are antioxidants in fruits, vegetables, teas and chocolate that can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

“Eating chocolate with nuts, such as almonds, is even better,” Schiff said. “You’ll have less of a spike in blood glucose because of the added healthy fat and protein from nuts.”

Schiff said it’s generally okay to consume an ounce of dark chocolate a day. Or she likes to add 100% cocoa to her oatmeal or coffee.

Dr. Qi Sun, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard and the study’s principal investigator, noted to the New York Times that dark chocolate is not a “magic bullet” for preventing type 2 diabetes, which affects more more than 36 million Americans.

Sun’s team found that those who ate more dark chocolate had a better quality diet, consuming more fruits, vegetables and flavonoids.

Sun also reported that most of the participants were older white adults who consumed relatively little chocolate, so the results may not apply to everyone.

Dr. Nestoras Mathioudakis, co-medical director of the Diabetes Prevention and Education Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, told CNN that these new findings don’t make him want to encourage people to consume chocolate for better blood sugar control.

“I would suggest alternative sources [of flavanols]especially dark berries like blueberries, blackberries and pomegranates, apples and tea,” he said. “Red wine also contains flavanols, but again, I wouldn’t recommend wine either.”