New research at the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen shows that dark chocolate is more filling than milk chocolate, lessening the craving for sweet, salty, and fatty foods. In other words, eating dark chocolate may be an efficient way to keep your weight down over Christmas.
To compare the effects of dark and milk chocolate on both appetite and subsequent calorie intake, 16 young and healthy men of normal weight who all liked both dark and milk chocolate took part in a so-called crossover experiment. This meant that they reported for two separate sessions, the first time testing the dark chocolate and the second time the milk chocolate.
They had all fasted for 12 hours beforehand and were offered 100 grams of chocolate, which they consumed in the course of 15 minutes. The calorific content was virtually the same for the milk and dark chocolate.
During the following five hours, participants were asked to register their appetite every 30 minutes (eg, their hunger, satiety, craving for special foods, and how they liked the chocolate).
Two and a half hours after eating the chocolate, the participants were offered pizza ad lib.
They were instructed to eat until they felt comfortably satiated. After the meal, the individuals' calorie intake was registered.
The calorie intake at the subsequent meal where they could eat as much pizza as they liked was 15% lower when they had eaten dark chocolate beforehand.
The participants also stated that the plain chocolate made them feel less like eating sweet, salty, or fatty foods.
So apart from providing us with the healthier fatty acids and many antioxidants, dark chocolate can now potentially help people steer clear of all the sweet, salty, and fattening Christmas foods.
Source: www.todaysdietitian.com and University of Copenhagen