By Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES
Chocolate, one of the most widely consumed snacks in the world, has been linked to improvements in many different aspects of human health.
It has been shown to reduce blood pressure, increase insulin sensitivity, and lower cholesterol.
Chocolate does contain lots of sugar and saturated fat and it is usually recommended to limit your daily intake to avoid increasing your weight and calories.
However, a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, could show a link between chocolate intake and a reduction in your BMI.
Let me explain…
Chocolate and Reduced BMI
Researchers wanted to verify previous findings that chocolate intake was associated with reduced BMI and lower risk factors for metabolic syndrome.
In fact, according to their research, BMI is just one part in a complicated puzzle related to metabolic syndrome.
BMI, which is a weight to height ratio that is commonly used to assess the risk for being underweight, overweight, or obese.
Metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of many different factors, could increase your risk for developing diabetes, heart disease, or having a stroke.
Typically, metabolic syndrome is associated with extra weight around your mid-section, insulin resistance, and blood pressure changes.
Many different factors increase your risk for metabolic syndrome. They can include: age, gender, lack of exercise, extra weight, and hormone changes in your body.
The researchers noted that moderate chocolate consumption was associated with reduced fat deposits in your body.
They recruited 1,018 men and women that ranged in age from 20 to 85 and who were free from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and had low levels of LDL cholesterol.
They answered different questionnaires in regards to fruit and vegetable intake (associated with a lower BMI), saturated fat intake, exercise history, and chocolate intake.
A total of 1,017 people answered the questionnaire on chocolate intake.
The researchers noted that greater chocolate consumption was related to lower body weight.
They also showed that people who consumed chocolate twice per week, also tended to exercise at least three days per week.
However, they did find that frequency of chocolate intake was associated with an increase in calories and saturated fat.
The researchers did mention that the powerful polyphenols, epicatechins, which could be commonly found in high amounts in chocolate, may be the reason for the lower BMI.
Epicatechins have been shown in other studies to increase mitochondrial biogenesis and capillary, muscular performance and lean mass which could be linked to reductions in BMI without changing calories in rats.
They concluded through their findings that modest chocolate intake was associated with a reduced BMI.
The researchers did note that even though their research supports other research, their findings warrant further studies into chocolate relationship in human metabolic demands.
Amazing Benefits of Chocolate
One of the most consumed snacks in the world, chocolate, has been on the forefront of research the last few years for potential benefits related to health and wellness.
In fact, recently it has been shown that chocolate contains powerful polyphenols, which have been shown to possess very strong antioxidant capabilities.
Now, according to this study, modest chocolate intake has been linked to lower BMI.
The research could point to catechins found in chocolate as the reason for the significant improvements in different areas of health - especially metabolic syndrome.
Even though more research is needed, chocolate consumption could be linked to lower BMI, which could help reduce one risk factor related to metabolic syndrome.
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