Cocoa compound could be an effective diabetes treatment

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In Utah, Brigham Young University researchers discovered certain compounds in cocoa can help your body release more insulin and respond to increased blood glucose better. Researchers believe the starting point is to look for ways to take the compound out of cocoa, make more of it and then use it as a potential treatment for current diabetes patients.

When a person has diabetes, their body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t process blood sugar properly. At the root of that is the failure of beta cells, whose job it is to produce insulin. The study found that beta cells work better and remain stronger with an increased presence of epicatechin monomers, compounds found naturally in cocoa.

While there has been a lot of research on similar compounds, no one has been able to pinpoint which ones are the most beneficial or how they bring about any benefit — until now.