Dark Chocolate as a Diet Aid!

The University of Copenhagen, Denmark, has announced the results of studies that show the potential use of dark chocolate in limiting total food intake – assuming, of course, that you will be eating chocolate of some kind anyway. The scientists compared the effects of dark and milk chocolate on appetite and subsequent calorie intake.

Sixteen young healthy men participated in a cross-over study. After a 12-hour fast they ate 100 gm of chocolate (dark or milk, at random) over a 15 minute period. At a second visit, they repeated the exercise with the alternate type of chocolate. During the next 5 hours they registered every 30 minutes their hunger, satiety, and craving for special foods. At the 2½ hour mark they were offered pizza, ad lib. Their calorie intake of pizza was 15% lower after the dark than after the milk chocolate. And they stated that the dark chocolate made them less interested in sweet, salty, or fatty foods.

This may look like the ideal cure for overeating. But I have my doubts. After 100 gm of dark chocolate it’s hard to say no to an extra square or so. Nevertheless, I’m prepared to do my own study over the next few weeks; even if it doesn’t work, it will be a lot of fun. And everyone knows that dark chocolate is good for you!