Can Dark Chocolate Help Manage Your Weight?
Blog post by Alison Dowling, Certified Natural Nutritional Practitioner (@alisonwritesstuff)
Dark chocolate might be the missing ingredient to managing weight! Being overweight or obese means that we are more likely to develop chronic diseases including hypertension, type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease (CVD). Weight management can be tricky though!
Why Dark Chocolate?
Cocoa and cocoa products are high in polyphenols. Polyphenols are compounds found in food that act in the body as antioxidants. Antioxidants prevent oxidative stress which can lead to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other oxidative stress-related illnesses. Antioxidants are a powerful antidote to chronic diseases and can be consumed preventatively through whole foods.
You may have heard of drinking red wine or coffee for their high antioxidant content. Well, cocoa is a potent source of polyphenols and contains more antioxidants than both! The compound called polyphenols found in cocoa is also found in substantial amounts in fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea, wine, and dry legumes. Many of these also contain flavonoids, an abundant type of polyphenols commonly found in food. The benefit of consuming cocoa, or a dark chocolate bar, depends on its polyphenol content. The higher percentage of cocoa (or the darker the chocolate), the better!
Does Milk Chocolate Help Manage Your Weight As Well?
Milk chocolate will not have the same effect because 1) the cocoa content tends to be quite a bit lower, and 2) the sugar content is much higher. The cocoa found in dark chocolate is approximately five times richer in antioxidants than milk chocolate is.
Dark chocolate’s high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory profile can assist in the prevention of cardiovascular disease by contributing to enhanced vasodilation and greatly reducing arterial stiffness in women. By improving our cardiovascular health with an antioxidant-rich diet and a healthy and active lifestyle, we can help counteract the beginning stages and slow the progression of cardiovascular disease.
Dark chocolate consumption can also contribute to an increase in “good” cholesterol (HDL) and a reduction in total cholesterol levels. Studies have found a positive correlation between both atherogenic and inflammatory markers, and abdomen circumference. Dark chocolate and other high cocoa products may be a useful addition to your preventative health regime, due to beneficial effects on HDL cholesterol, lipoprotein ratios and inflammation, in general!
So… Is Eating Dark Chocolate Enough To Manage My Weight?
While several studies have attributed dark chocolate's benefits to weight management to the potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-obesity properties of polyphenols, this is not treatment enough alone. Leading a healthy and active lifestyle requires time, effort, and financial means. Investing in your health means access to exercise opportunities and equipment, as well as education in and around food choices. Always choose to shop the perimeter of the grocery store, and get outdoors on a regular basis, walking or biking to work, and kick-start your journey to weight management.
A subgroup analysis studied the approximate dose and duration of dark chocolate supplementation. You’ll see that a little dark chocolate a day (30g) can go a long way! And over the course of 4-8 weeks with a healthy lifestyle, may help reduce body weight. These powerful compounds found in cocoa assist in thermogenesis, boost energy expenditure, reduce the occurrence of oxidative stress and inflammation, and can be an important part of a healthy lifestyle!
