Patriot Health Digest
Good news for people who love chocolate – a new study suggests there is no cause to stop eating the tasty treat if you are looking to lose pounds. According to new research, it could really supercharge your fat-burning by lowering levels of glucose inside your blood.
Released in FASEB Journal, research done by Brigham and Women’s Hospital reports that eating chocolate early in the morning could help weight loss, as the study shows participants consumed 100g of chocolate within an hour after waking up and one hour before bed for two weeks during the study. The researchers discovered that even with their chocolate intake, there was no change in their weight.
According to the study leaders, consuming chocolate in the morning could aid in lowering the glucose levels in your blood and burn fat. This might be because of the flavanols and antioxidants levels found in cocoa beans, which can lead to a boost in fat oxidation.
“Eating chocolate in the morning or the evening/night ends with differential effects on a person’s hunger, fasting glucose, substrate oxidation, microbiota, and sleep rhythms,” said Frank A.J. L. Scheer, a neuroscientist and one of the scientists behind the study.
“Our discovery highly suggests that not just ‘what’ but also ‘when’ you eat can change your physiological mechanisms concerning management of body weight.”
“Results reveal that females were less hungry after they consumed chocolate and had less desire for such sweets than if they had no chocolate, especially after eating chocolate during the evening or night,” the researchers said. “Also, daily cortisol levels were decreased when the participants ate chocolate in the morning rather than at night.”
Past research has shown that chocolate can aid heart health. This is because the antioxidants within dark chocolate can lower blood pressure, decrease the risk of clotting and improve blood circulation.
Author: Scott Dowdy
