Ladies, rejoice! A new study of postmenopausal women found that eating a concentrated amount of chocolate during a narrow window of time in the morning may help the body burn fat and decrease blood sugar levels.
The purpose of the study was to evaluate chocolate consumption and its timing on energy and body weight or body fat distribution, satiety, fasting blood glucose, and gut health.
They recruited 19 female postmenopausal participants who were between 45 and 65 with a BMI under 35 kg/m who liked milk chocolate.
They randomly assigned the participants to one group that consumed 100g of milk chocolate in the morning and at night and another that didn’t eat any chocolate for two weeks.
Study results
In the study, researchers had women consume either 100g (about 3.5 ounces) of milk chocolate in the morning with breakfast (within one hour after waking time) or at night (within one hour before bedtime). They compared weight gain and many other measures to no chocolate intake. The researchers found that morning or nighttime chocolate intake did not lead to weight gain. However, participants reduced waist circumference when having chocolate in the morning. It appears that eating chocolate in the morning or in the evening can influence hunger and appetite. Women who consumed chocolate had decreased hunger and a desire for sweets.
Eating chocolate also had a favorable impact on gut health, sleep, and more. In fact, a high intake of chocolate during the morning hours could help to burn fat and reduce blood glucose levels. Apparently, the evening/night chocolate altered the next morning’s resting and exercise metabolism.
Before you go all-in on eating chocolate each day, here are a few points to keep in mind:
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Moderation is important to remember. For comparison, one square of chocolate is usually about an ounce. In the study, women ate about 3.5 ounces each day or a little more than three squares.
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The time window of eating the chocolate was narrow – within one hour of waking or going to sleep.
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While positive effects were observed when eating chocolate in the morning or at night, eating chocolate in the morning could help burn body fat.
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Chocolate intake in the evening may help with the next morning performance during high-intensity exercises or prolonged exercises and may also help with regulating sleep.
Don’t forget that the study was very small. The results were promising, but a larger study is needed to validate the results.
