More chocolate for low carbers!
You will probably have read about chocolaty weight loss wonders before, but I guarantee that you won't have seen anything that comes close to the impressive results of a recent study from the Institute of Diet and Health in Mainz, Germany.
In their latest study, the scientists randomized 19-67-year-old men and women to one out of three groups. One group was instructed to keep a low-carb diet and to consume an additional daily serving of 42 grams of chocolate with 81% cocoa content (chocolate group).
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Another group was instructed to follow the same low-carb diet as the chocolate group, but without the chocolate intervention (low-carb group). In addition, Johannes Bohannon, Diana Koch, Peter Homm, and Alexander Driehaus asked a third group to simply stick to their regular diet habits with an unrestricted choice of food for the whole three-week study period (there are no exact numbers in the paper, but assuming the recommendations the scientists referenced are followed the subjects cut their energy intake by 500kcal/day and achieved that by cutting carbs).
At the beginning of the study, all participants received extensive medical advice and were thoroughly briefed on their respective diet. At the beginning and the end of the study, each participant gave a blood sample. Their weight, BMI, and waist-to-hip ratio were determined and noted. In addition to that, the scientists evaluated the Giessen Subjective Complaints List a tool to measure the quality of life of the subjcets. During the study, participants were encouraged to weigh themselves on a daily basis, assess the quality of their sleep as well as their mental state, and to use urine test strips.
Figure 1: Weight development over the 21-day study period (Bohannon. 2015).
As previously hinted at, the results of the study were impressive: Subjects of the chocolate intervention group experienced the easiest and most successful weight loss. Even though the measurable effect of this diet occurred with a delay, the weight reduction of this group exceeded the results of the low-carb group by 10% after only three weeks (p = 0.04). While the weight cycling effect already occurred after a few weeks in the low-carb group, with resulting weight gain in the last fifth of the observation period, the chocolate group experienced a steady increase in weight loss.
The scientists were also able to show a significant reduction in ketones. A result that suggests that the no-chocolate low-carbers did not adhere to their low-carb prescription. While those in the chocolate group, whose ketone groups were initially much lower than those of the "true" low-carbers group, the situation changed over the course of the 3-week study period:
"The low-carb group had a lower ketone reduction than in the previous period, they reduced 145 mg/dl less ketones, whereas the chocolate group had an average reduction of an additional 145mg/dl" (Bohannon. 2015).
The scientists found similar favorable effects on total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL cholesterol levels of the chocolate group. Moreover, the subjects of the chocolate group found a significant
improvement in their well-being (physically and mentally). An improvement that was highly significant (p < 0.001) and close to "feeling well" vs. "feeling f*** up miserable" when the scientists compared the chocolate to the low carb group.
Figure 2: The subjects who consumed additional 40g of dark chocolate (81% cacao) per day did not just lose more weight, they also felt significantly better than the "true" low-carbers who didn't get their share of chocolate (Bohannon. 2015).
Bottom line: The consumption of chocolate with a high cocoa content can significantly increase the success of weight-loss diets. What dieters should know, though, is that the weightloss effect of this diet occurs with a certain delay.
As the scientists point out, the addition of 40g of chocolate containing 81% cacao will yet have significant long-term benefits on weight loss, of which the German scientists found that it "seems to occur easier and more successfully by adding chocolate" (Bohannon. 2015). Since the effect of chocolate, which acted as a true "weight loss turbo" in the study at hand, will, due to its effects on personal well-being also make the loss of body fat easier and - as the ketone levels the scientists measured - increase the adherence to low carbohydrate weight loss diets | Comment on Facebook!
References:
Bohannon, Johannes, et al. "Chocolate with high Cocoa content as a weight-loss accelerator." International Archives of Medicine 8 (2015).