This is my kind of study! New research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine has found that people who eat a small amount of chocolate are thinner than those who eat chocolate less often.
Although this study did not specify the type of chocolate, cocoa (which is most present in dark chocolate) is rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, which help fight inflammation, lower blood pressure and improve overall vascular function.
According to lead author Beatrice Golomb, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California-San Diego, the antioxidants also affect metabolism and improve insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance contributes to hypertension and obesity.
“The chocolate provided better metabolism for all calories, not just the chocolate calories.”
However, before you starting packing away the candy bars in hopes of keeping weight at bay, keep in mind that most of them contain at least 200 calories, tons of sugar and are made with milk chocolate (little or no cocoa). Limit chocolate to one ounce of dark chocolate per day. For those of you who aren’t dark chocolate fans, here is a tip. Start with one that has a lower percentage of cocoa, like 55%, and let the piece of chocolate melt a little on your tongue. As you acquire a taste for dark, then you can experiment with richer and stronger chocolate.
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