You might have heard about the crisis of the diabetic patients. Well, there are too many things in their “Don’t” list. Chocolate and treats are definitely most common ones. But is chocolate that harmful? If you ask a general physician, you may get a strong YES answer. However, the researchers of the Brigham Young University have a different story to tell. They have successfully tested and verified an isolated component of the chocolate that can actually fight against the Type II diabetes. The research that has published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry originally tells some intriguing facts about the Glucagon and Insulin balance.
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What Cocoa does?
The pancreas is known for its significance in releasing various hormones and enzymes that in turn ensure a healthy life. In the biological term, a special region called as Islets of Langerhans, contain scores of Beta cells. These are the cells that are predominantly responsible for releasing the much required Insulin hormone. The Insulin basically controls the body sugar. If the Type II diabetes causes are noticed then, lack of Insulin appears to be the most crucial one. Cocoa simply increases the amount of insulin in the body and also enhances the release of another hormone called Amylin. Amylin is also an important hormone that actually puts a break on the amount of glucose level in the bloodstream.
Assistant Professor Jeffery Tessem of BYU has the explanation for the increased release of Insulin and Amylin in the body. According to him, the Cocoa contains a special compound in it that is known as the Epicatechin Monomer. Well, this is what makes all the difference. This compound can actually strengthen the Mitochondria of the cells and when the Beta cells receive the Epicatechin Monomers, Mitochondria start producing more ATP from the Oxygen and the nutrients. Higher energy enables the cells to secrete the hormones more and thus the bodily sugar level is maintained.
How they did the research?
Like most of the researches, Assistant Professor, Jeffery Tessem and his students went for the mice experiments. The mice were given lots of cocoa and the result was evident. The level of obesity was clearly decreasing and so was the glucose level. The research and experiment gave a clear indication of the benefits of chocolates or Cocoa for Type II diabetes.
Benefits
If the medical researches and the developments in recent years are closely followed, then the benefits of the chocolates can be easily spotted. Researches have proved that the good bacteria can be fed well with the chocolates in the guts and that can, in turn, produce a healthy amount of anti-inflammatory compounds. These are extremely important for a healthy life. On the other hand, Chocolate can even strike down the memory loss problems that come across due to aging. Reducing lower body fats and role in controlling diabetes have also been already successfully researched for chocolate. However, this would be a new feather in the hat for the widely misunderstood diet, Chocolate.
What Next?
The researchers are hopeful that this would create a major revolution for diabetes treatment. However, one needs to understand that the Epicatechin Monomer compound is required to fight against the Type 2 diabetes. So, the sugar has to be avoided. Probably, there would be new compounds and supplements containing Epicatechin Monomer, to tackle the issue.