Cocoa Helps Obese People Control Inflammation Related Diseases

Most of us will agree that cocoa is the best thing to stir into a mug on a winter afternoon. It is probably one of the best winter beverages. Researchers from Penn State have discovered that a few cups of hot cocoa that people generally consume for pleasure has a lot more potential health benefits to offer.

According to a new finding, a few cups of hot cocoa helps obese people better control inflammation-linked diseases such as diabetes.

In the experiment conducted, mice that were fed cocoa along with a high-fat diet had noticeably less obesity-linked inflammation when compared to mice that had the same high-fat diet without the supplement, says Joshua Lambert, associate professor of food science. During the 10-week experiment, the mice were given cocoa powder equivalent to human consumption, i.e., 10 tablespoons, which makes up to 4-5 cups of hot cocoa.

"What surprised me was the magnitude of the effect," Lambert said. "There wasn't as big of an effect on the body weight as we expected, but I was surprised at the dramatic reduction of inflammation and fatty liver disease."

Those mice that were fed cocoa supplement had a lower indication of inflammation and diabetes when compared to the mice that were fed a high-fat diet without the supplement, and were identical to the mice in the control group that were fed a low-fat diet.

They noticed that those mice that had cocoa supplements had 27 percent less plasma insulin levels when compared to mice that were not fed any supplement of cocoa. Apart from this, cocoa powder supplements dropped the levels of liver triglycerides in mice by more than 32 percent. High level of triglycerides is an indication of fatty liver disease and is also associated with inflammation and diabetes. There was a reduction in the rate of body weight gain.

Prior to this, several studies have shown a strong correlation between obesity-linked chronic inflammation to type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. But the reason for inflammation response remains a mystery.

However, the researchers predict that excess of the fat may cause a distress signal that triggers immune cells, leading to inflammation. Cocoa lowers the precursors that play the role of a distress signal to initiate an inflammatory response.

Another theory they propose is that excess fat in the diet impedes with the ability of the body to keep endotoxin (bacterial component) from entering the blood stream through gaps between the cells in digestive system, altering the immune response.

"Most obesity researchers tend to steer clear of chocolate because it is high in fat, high in sugar and is usually considered an indulgence," Lambert said. "However, cocoa powder is low in fat and low in sugar. We looked at cocoa because it contains a lot of polyphenolic compounds, so it is analogous to things like green tea and wine, which researchers have been studying for some of their health benefits."

The study was published in the European Journal of Nutrition.