Valentine's Day, Diabetes, and Chocolate

First, everyone loves chocolate, so why should those who have diabetes give it up? According to Diabetes UK, it’s a myth that you can’t eat chocolate if you have diabetes. They recommend eating it in moderation rather than just using it to satisfy hunger and not eating a lot in one go as it affects your blood sugar levels. With this being said, what type of chocolate should one be reaching for when looking for a snack?

Most chocolate stores will tell you to reach for their diabetes-friendly, sugar-free chocolate. And while this may be tempting to do for something with diabetes, “sugar-free” doesn’t always mean that it’s the best for you. Many sugar-free chocolates are sweetened with fructose, sorbitol and most commonly maltitol, a derivative of wheat.

Maltitol is probably the best substitute for sugar when it comes to “sugar-free” products, especially because it has no bitter after-taste like fructose and sorbitol. Not only does it provide sweetening powers, but it also contains half the number of calories that sugar does. It has been marketed as helping chocolate addicts trying to reduce their sugar intake as well as helping consumers achieve their weight loss without giving up the food they love. This is great, but when you consider diabetes, maltitol isn’t always the right choice. Maltitol has 2.1 calories per gram, while sugar has 4 calories per gram, which is fantastic but when you look at their glycemic indexes, it tells a different story. Maltitol has a glycemic index of 52 and sugar’s is 60. Those two numbers are not very far off. What this means is that your pancreas perceives maltitol as sugar, raising insulin needs. Like sugar, maltitol is also a carbohydrate, so if you’re carb-counting, this is something to take into account. Diabetes-friendly chocolate can also act as a laxative when large amounts are ingested and is not recommended for children to consume for this reason.

So, if “sugar-free” chocolate isn’t always the best for those with diabetes, what chocolate is good? Well if sweeteners like fructose, sorbitol and maltitol can still affect blood sugar levels like regular milk chocolate, the next best thing is dark chocolate. When eaten in moderation, dark chocolate can be healthy for your body. Dark chocolate contains less amount of carbs than regular milk chocolate and contains ingredients that are healthy. It is recommended to eat dark chocolate that contains at least 70% cocoa or more and if you’re used to sweeter chocolates it may take a while to get used to the slightly bitter taste.

Chocolate provides many health benefits to those who consume it including cutting the risk of heart failure. Chocolate has enzymes called flavanols that help to reduce platelets clumping. These clumps usually result in blocking blood vessels and result in heart attacks. Chocolate has also been proven to reduce stress and improve moods in people. However, dark chocolate does have a fat content, carbs, calories, and sugars so it is important to consume it in moderation. Dark chocolate is healthier, but it is still chocolate.

Overall, when it comes to choosing chocolate, it’s more satisfying to indulge in the real thing (even if it’s a small amount) than eat something that doesn’t quite taste the same. Just because a person has diabetes does not mean they should compromise and forfeit the foods that they love. They should just be aware of what they are eating, what goes into it and eat appropriate amounts of each food.