Protective Effect of Dark Chocolate on Cardiovascular Disease Factors and Body Composition in Type 2 Diabetes: A Parallel, Randomized, Clinical Trial

Background: Diabetes leads to complications such as cardiovascular diseases. There are limited data about the effect of dark chocolate on cardiovascular function in patients with diabetes. Objectives: The current study aimed at determining the effect of dark chocolate on cardiovascular health and body composition among people with diabetes. Methods: The current parallel, randomized, clinical trial was conducted on 44 patients with diabetes (Ahvaz, Iran). They were randomly assigned into the intervention (n = 21, 30 g dark chocolate daily for 8 weeks) and the control groups (n = 23). At the beginning and end of the intervention period, fasting blood samples were collected to measure nitric oxide (NO) and angiotensin II. Also, anthropometric measurement, body composition analyses, and blood pressure were compared between the 2 groups before and after the intervention. Results: A significant reduction in systolic (-6.9 +/- 7.3 vs. 0.3 +/- 1.9; P = 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (-5.8 +/- 6.7 vs. 0.5 +/- 3.9; P = 0.001), waist circumference (WC) (-0.7 +/- 1.0 vs. 0.1 +/- 1.2; P = 0.007), and significant increase in soft lean mass (P = 0.045) was observed in the intervention group. There were no significant changes in NO levels, but a trend close to significance for angiotensin II (P = 0.052) at end of the intervention between the 2 groups. Conclusions: The current study findings showed that dark chocolate consumption in patients with diabetes might improve their WC, body composition, and blood pressure, but had no effect on NO in this dosage.