Dark Chocolate for Diabetics | How to Choose the Best Type?

08 Sep Dark Chocolate for Diabetics | How to Choose the Best Type?

Sugar cravings during diabetes are obvious. The health condition puts a huge strain on your diet. You constantly have to be aware of your meals and their impact on your blood sugar level.

Interestingly, according to some studies, low-sugar, nutrient-dense dark chocolate seems a perfect fit for your cravings. Not only it savors your taste buds but is also beneficial for your condition.

The effectiveness depends on the chocolate selected. By dark chocolate, we mean one with 70 percent or more cocoa, with the least amount of sugar.

Though, there are other factors determining dark chocolate benefits for diabetes. And this can help us find out—is dark chocolate good for diabetic patients?

Is Dark Chocolate Good for Diabetics?

Recently, dark chocolate has gained a lot of hype as the best snack for diabetics.

The secret lies in the formation of the sweet snack. It comprises polyphenols. The natural compound has immense antioxidant effects, which prevent damage due to radical molecules.

Moreover, Polyphenols present in dark chocolate benefits insulin sensitivity and how it is processed inside the human body. 

This helps in regulating blood sugar levels. Increased insulin sensitivity, in such a case, may delay, or slow down, or even prevent the early onset of diabetes.

Studies: The Link between Dark Chocolate and Diabetes

According to a study in the journal Appetite, people having dark chocolate once a week have a lower occurrence of diabetes. 

Also, they were at least risk for diabetes for the upcoming 4 to 5 years. The examination of 908 non-diabetic people and 45 people with diabetes showed people having dark chocolate less than once a week had twice the risk of diabetes compared to people who had it more frequently weekly.

Another study explored the use of dark chocolate for diabetic patients. The findings show how the antioxidant effects of cocoa polyphenols benefit insulin resistance. This, in turn, reduces the risk of developing diabetes.

Some other studies explore the relationship between white chocolate and diabetes as well. Here, the findings have put dark chocolate in a positive spotlight in terms of diabetes.

However, the studies have been conducted in a controlled environment using a small number of sweet snacks. And the quality of dark chocolate plays a determining role. 

So, you need to choose the best dark chocolate for diabetics. Also, moderate consumption results in different benefits of a healthy snack.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Chocolate: Regular Consumption

The mildly sweet and savory taste of dark chocolate benefits your diabetic condition. Besides, it offers a whole range of health benefits.

While the intake may spike your cravings, keep the consumption under moderation. Read other chocolate benefits to know more reasons to include it in your diet.

Potential Benefits of Dark Chocolate

Regular consumption of dark chocolate benefits diabetic patients to a great extent. At the same time, the snack offers various other health benefits. These include:

• Chocolates have a good consistency of compounds called flavonoids. These are beneficial in managing insulin resistance. 
• Dark chocolate may also benefit in lessening clotting in the blood.
• Flavonoids improvise endothelial function lessening insulin resistance. Eventually, this cuts down the risk of future cardiac problems.

So, is dark chocolate ok for diabetics?

Yes, it is beneficial for diabetes and overall health. But the benefits occur only in moderate intake. Indeed, exceeding the threshold limits results in negative complications.

Possible Drawbacks of Chocolate

Remember, all chocolates aren’t the same. Milk and white chocolate are completely different from dark chocolate. 

When it comes to benefits, they don’t stand anywhere near dark chocolate.

• In other words, consumption of milk and white chocolate puts strain on your health.
• Instead of having chocolate cake or chocolate chip cookies, having a square of dark chocolate is better. 
• Having excessive chocolate may spike blood sugar levels and even lead to weight gain.

Overall, consuming dark chocolate offers health benefits only. The condition is only picking the right brand and keeping the intake in moderation.

Pick the Right Dark Chocolate for the Right Benefits

Dark chocolate insulin resistance has guaranteed effects on your health. This doesn’t mean all chocolate provides similar benefits. 

The studies directly mention polyphenol-rich dark chocolate benefiting diabetic conditions.

Obviously, this is because of the nutritional value. The high antioxidant effects because of the higher percentage of cocoa affects insulin resistance. 

So, not only it lowers the risk of development of the condition but also regulates blood sugar levels to yield better health benefits.

Receiving such benefits entirely depends on picking the right dark chocolate rather than having just any chocolate.

Here’s how to pick the best diabetic chocolate:

• Read nutritional value
• Buy only 70 to 85% dark chocolate for diabetes
• Ask for sugar-free chocolate for diabetics
• Make sure the fiber quantity and the sugar amount is the same
• For maximum benefits, try unprocessed dark chocolate

The above-mentioned tips help select the right dark chocolate to benefit your health condition. 

Also, if you are a fan of chocolate recipes, buy the best cocoa powder for diabetics. Make sure it has the maximum amount of cocoa and is free from additives.

Is dark chocolate good for sugar patients? Yes, it is. This doesn’t mean munching over insensitively. Excess of anything is bad. This statement is effective in terms of chocolate and diabetes.

How to Choose the Best Dark Chocolate for Diabetics?

The benefits of dark chocolate for diabetes depend on the brand purchased. Most people get anyone off the shelves proclaiming it as the best dark chocolate.

In contrast, they have a doubtful nutritional value and have a lesser quantity of dark cocoa. In such a situation, it becomes necessary to know how to bag the best sugar-free chocolate for diabetics.

Follow these steps to select the best dark chocolate:

#1: What’s the Percentage of Cocoa?

Not all dark chocolate bars really carry all the benefits. 

They must have the label of dark chocolate, but their cocoa quantity can be less by as much as 30 percent. 

Indeed, to reap maximum perks of the snack, buy the bar having 70 percent cocoa or more. Generally, it is mentioned on the front package.

#2: What’s the Sugar Content?

All chocolate contains carbs. The key is to buy low-sugar chocolate. 

This includes the unsweetened baking chocolate. This can help to control your carbs consumption.

E.g., a serving of Hershey’s Kiss milk chocolate candies contains 19 g of carbs. In contrast, a serving of 1 tablespoon (tbsp.) Hershey’s dark chocolate chips comprise 9 g of carbs.

Keep a count of carbs. This can help manage your blood sugar level, which the carbs present sugar can influence.

#3: Lookout for Additional Sugary Ingredients

Some brands, to make the snack lucrative, add additional sugary ingredients. 

Though they present the new variety with greater health benefits, there’s nothing but additional sugar additives.

In other words, skip dark chocolate containing caramel, toffee, or other sugary add-ins.

On the contrary, dark chocolates with nuts, such as almonds are better. They make you fuller and delay the spike in your blood sugar level.

Adding cocoa and almonds into your diet can reduce the risk of cardiac issues without having too many calories. More studies are necessary to establish this claim, though.

#4: Buy Sugar-Free Cocoa Powder or Cacao Nibs Only

Having sugar cravings are common with diabetic patients. Avoiding isn’t always a solution. 

You look for alternatives to prepare chocolaty treats for yourself. Instead of purchasing your normal cocoa powder and cacao nibs, buy one which is sugar-free. 

The same taste offers optimal benefits without loading you with carbs. Cacao nibs encompass iron and magnesium. These are beneficial in diabetes.

#5: Analyze the Nutrition Table

Most of the time, the brand claims its snacks as perfect replacements for your sugar-loaded bar. In contrast, the product has really low nutritional value. 

The nutrition table offers a clearer picture of the ingredients and presence of cocoa in dark chocolate. Also, it helps you understand the kind of nutrition you can expect from the snack.

This 5-point guide clearly shows how you should buy dark chocolate. It should be low calorie, nutrition-dense, and high in cocoa.

Anything less than 70% cocoa isn’t worth it at all.

The Most Important Thing…

Munch on Dark Chocolate in Moderation

Dark chocolate does benefit diabetes. But this doesn’t mean having an excessive amount of the sweet snack.

Usually, commercial chocolate encompasses additional sugar, fat, and calories.

Snacking in an unmoderated amount may increase your calorie intake. Its nutritional value may influence your blood sugar level too. 

And besides switching to dark chocolate, you can bring a bit of change to your chocolate meals too to reap more health benefits.

Healthy Chocolate Recipes for Diabetes

Diabetic patients know the pain of not being able to have something healthy. However, there’s always an alternative, you just need to look for it.

To have something chocolate-flavored, you can switch to its healthier version. 

Whether you want to have a chocolate cake or a brownie, there’s always a healthier chocolate recipe for diabetes.

• Chocolate cake: Instead of using regular chocolate, try sugar-free dark chocolate as a key ingredient. It provides you fiber to manage blood glucose levels while you can savor the taste of chocolate.
• Sugar-free brownies: The high-fiber, gluten-free brownies deliver protein and other nutrition without adding the sweet calories. There are many sugar alternatives on Amazon.
• Peanut butter and chocolate: You can try the no-bake peanut butter and chocolate bites made from 85% cocoa dark chocolate.

Though these recipes are a good way to devour chocolaty desserts, there’s still some concern.

These alternatives are only perfect when the ingredient in the preparation of the food complies with the objectives of the recipe. 

FAQs

Dark chocolate seems to be a delightful addition to a diabetic’s bland diet. Also, the recent hype of its use in the condition gave rise to numerous questions. 

We have answered a few to provide a clearer perspective.

Q1: How much dark chocolate can a diabetic eat per day?

Have a single serving of rich dark chocolate, limiting the serving to almost ¾ to 1 oz. This helps obtain the benefits of a nutritious snack while satisfying your cravings. 

The best part is the threshold amount doesn’t load you with calories, carbs, sugar, or saturated fat.

Q2: Which dark chocolate is best for diabetics?

Instead of misleading ‘diabetic’ chocolate, buy standard dark chocolate having 70% or more cocoa. 

It has an intense and slightly bitter taste as compared to the regular milk variety. You can some and then store the rest for another time.

Q3: Does dark chocolate increase blood sugar?

Among the snack lists, dark chocolate is the healthiest pick. Not only it encompasses a greater amount of cocoa solids but also has a lesser quantity of carbs. 

This doesn’t have an impact as such as regular milk chocolate. Comparatively, it is a better pick when you want to monitor blood sugar while still having something savory.

Q4: What kind of chocolate can diabetics eat?

When buying chocolate for diabetic patients, you should look for:

• Unsweetened baking chocolate,
• low sugar, nutrition-dense chocolate,
• one with 70% or more cocoa,
• unprocessed chocolate,
• low-calorie options,
• hot cocoa for diabetics.

These tips help in buying the best dark chocolate for diabetics. So, keep these in your mind when out shopping.

Q5: How fast does chocolate raise blood sugar?

Who doesn’t want to have chocolate and candies daily? However, they contain fat in a good quantity. 

This can lead to a delay in the rising blood sugar level. Wait for the next 15 minutes and retest. It takes almost 15 minutes to raise your blood sugar level.

Q6: Can you eat chocolate with type 2 diabetes?

Yes, you can have dark chocolate only. Plus, one crucial element here is quantity. Keep the intake in moderation so that you enjoy the taste without the possible mess-ups.

Q7: Is cocoa good for diabetics?

A compound present in cocoa helps treat or control type 2 diabetes. Also, the chemical boosts insulin production and regulates blood sugar levels. 

But the benefits are only possible when the quantity is in moderation and the quality is best.

Now, it’s time to get to the final overview of the relationship between dark chocolate and diabetes.

Final Thoughts: Is Dark Chocolate Good for Diabetics?

Too much of anything is bad. The statement is valid with the dark chocolate hype.

Recent studies and research show that the moderate consumption of dark chocolate offers various health benefits. Primarily, it lowers the risk of diabetes and even regulates blood sugar levels.

Regular intake of the variety mentioned improves insulin resistance, shields against UV skin damage, improves mood, and protects the brain against neuro-inflammation.

Such benefits are the result of the presence of certain compounds in dark chocolate, which has impressive anti-oxidant effects.