Cocoa for diabetics

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Got cocoa? If you’ve got Type 2 diabetes, you might want to grab a mug.

Consuming the flavanols that naturally occur in cocoa appears to improve the blood vessel function of diabetics, according to a study by an international team of scientists, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

In the second part of a two-part investigation, Dr. Malte Kelm, a professor and chairman of cardiology, pulmonology and vascular medicine at University Hospital Aachen in Aachen, Germany, and his colleagues tested the effectiveness of routine consumption of cocoa with high levels of flavanols against the effectiveness of cocoa with low levels of flavanols in 41 patients with stable Type 2 diabetes.

For 30 days, three times daily, patients in one group consumed cocoa with 321 mg. of flavanols, while patients in a second group consumed cocoa with a paltry 25 mg. of flavanols. Using a test called ‘flow-mediated dilation,’ or FMD, the investigators tested the artery function of each patient before the experiment, on the eighth and again on the 30th day.

The researchers found that while patients who consumed the low-flavanol cocoa experienced no significant change in FMD response over time, after eight days, and again at 30 days, the patients with supercharged cocoa experienced a significant improvement in FMD response.

Kelm stresses that it’s not the cocoa but the flavanols that count.

‘This study is not about chocolate, and it’s not about urging those with diabetes to eat more chocolate,’ he says in a news release. ‘This research focuses on what’s at the true heart of the discussion on ‘healthy chocolate’ — it’s about cocoa flavanols. And here’s another dash of cold water: The high-flavanol cocoa used in the study is not sold in supermarkets.

--Janet Cromley