Chocolate is a high-calorie food, and most people don’t think of high-calorie foods as being beneficial for weight loss, but chocolate may be an exception. Chocolate is typically thought of as an indulgence, something to eat as a guilty splurge, but a new study suggests that people who nibble on chocolate may have an advantage when it comes to controlling their weight and whittling their waistline.
Chocolate and Weight Control: Can Chocolate Give You a Slimmer Waistline?
When researchers at Pennsylvania State University looked at the eating habits of almost 1,000 healthy adult women and men of all ages, they made a surprising discovery. Men and women who ate more chocolate had lower BMIs even though they ate more total calories and fat. In fact, those who ate chocolate five times a week had an average BMI that was a point lower than participants who ate chocolate less frequently. Bring on the chocolate?
Before reaching for a chocolate bar, keep in mind this was an observational study and doesn’t necessarily show that eating chocolate was the reason these adults weighed less. It’s possible that frequent chocolate eaters ate more chocolate because they were less predisposed to weight gain, to begin with. Still, researchers point out that dark chocolate is a rich source of catechin antioxidants that could have subtle metabolism-boosting benefits.
Dark chocolate could help you lose weight in another way. Research in mice shows the catechins in dark chocolate increase the number of mitochondria inside muscle cells. Mitochondria are the energy-producing powerhouses of cells, and more muscle mitochondria improve exercise endurance. Mice were able to run on a treadmill longer when they drank water supplemented with chocolate catechins prior to their workout. As it turns out, muscle cells in mice contain receptors that specifically bind these catechins. Whether eating dark chocolate boosts endurance in humans is still unclear.
Other Benefits of Dark Chocolate
Whether dark chocolate can slim your waistline is still unproven, but what’s more certain are the benefits it has for your heart. The same catechins that boost exercise endurance in mice also improve blood vessel function and lower blood pressure, both good things when it comes to the health of your heart and arteries.
There are some good reasons to enjoy dark chocolate but don’t overdo it. Most studies show that dark chocolate has benefits in small quantities, and you can get those benefits by eating the equivalent of a half square of dark chocolate a day. There’s another advantage to munching on a square or less of dark chocolate a day. Some people think that dark chocolate suppresses their appetite.
What about milk chocolate? Milk chocolate doesn’t have the same heart-healthy benefits as dark chocolate. The additional processing destroys some of the catechins that make chocolate such a healthy indulgence. Look for dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70% or greater. For an even lower calorie chocolate “fix,” use raw, unsweetened cocoa powder to make healthy hot cocoa. Use non-dairy milk. Milk proteins in dairy milk bind to the catechins in chocolate and inactivate them.
The Bottom Line?
Dark chocolate is a healthy indulgence that’s good for your heart, and there’s some evidence that it may help with weight control. Eat it in moderation, and you’ll get the benefits without taking in too many calories.
References:
J Proteome Res. 2009 Dec;8(12):5568-79.
The New York Times. “How Chocolate Can Help Your Workout”
WebMD. “Dark Chocolate Prevents Heart Disease”
Medscape.com. “Chocolate Consumption in Relation to Blood Pressure and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in German Adults”
Nutraingredients.com. “Have Your Cake and Eat It: Chocolate Consumption Linked to Lower BMI”
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