Question: How would chocolate be good for poeple if they have diabetes

Duane Mellor answered on 10 Nov 2014:

Thanks 425bdya24 for a great question
Firstly with all that fat and sugar you would expect them to be far from ideal. In research with chocolate and cocoa we often use specially made bars which are very bitter as they contain lots of the cocoa with the cocoa butter removed. It is thought that the chemicals that makes cocoa and chocolate, bitter the flavanols (especially one called epicatechin) can have lots of beneficial effects in our bodies. It is probably important to mention these chemicals are also found in many fruit and vegetables too. These flavanols can make our blood vessels more bouncy which can reduce risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure and even have the potential to make insulin the hormone involved in diabetes work more effectively by lowering insulin resistance.
The challenge is trying to get enough of the flavanols into a chocolate without making it too bitter or contain too much energy, fat and sugar. I am not sure that has been achieved yet in bars you can buy in the shops.