And, now dark chocolate is good for us… again.

OK, it was only a few months ago that Consumers Digest warned us about contamination of dark chocolate. Specifically lead and cadmium. I remember reading that and immediately thought ohh damn it. I love dark chocolate, but I decided to cut back. 

So now I guess it's no surprise that another study has come out and says I need to eat dark chocolate at least five times a week. These people are making me crazy. 

According to NPR.com,
‘Now, a new study finds people who have a habit of eating a little dark chocolate — about an ounce per day — have a 21% lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, compared to people who don't consume it. "We are a little bit surprised to see that effect size," says study author Dr. Qi Sun, an associate professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.’ 

The study was done with about 192,000 patients all filling out food Diaries and the researcher's made comparisons between patients who ate milk chocolate and patients who ate dark chocolate. (Milk chocolate has more sugar.) The milk chocolate eaters tended to gain more weight, which contributed to their diabetes. The study found dark chocolate eaters Generally, did not gain weight. 

There seem to be other benefits to eating dark chocolate. This includes lowering the risk of stroke, cardiovascular issues and promoting lower blood pressure. 

The researchers also wanted to point out that eating dark chocolate in moderation is what they're looking for. (That's my problem.) Although I have found that when I eat dark chocolate, it seems to behave like an appetite suppressant to some small degree. Maybe it's because I eat so much dark chocolate. 

So, the researchers say a safe dose is 1 oz a day, five days a week? I wish that dose could be increased by a factor of 10. 

I know, “moderation in all things”, even dark chocolate. 

Also don't forget about that lead and cadmium thing. Yum. 

Love dark chocolate? A small piece each day may reduce your risk of diabetes : Shots - Health News : NPR
Study looks at impact of two kinds of chocolate on type 2 diabetes risk
What you can eat five times a week to fight diabetes, according to scientists