Postprandial Glucose, Insulin, and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Responses in Healthy Adults after Consumption of Chocolate-Products

Chocolate may affect the glycemic response, which is related the insulin and incretin response. We evaluated the glucose, insulin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) responses in male adults after consumption of three commonly consumed chocolates. Furthermore, we assessed the glycemic index (GI), insulin index (II), and glycemic load (GL) of the chocolates. The study protocol was adapted from the International Standard Organization recommendations. Test foods were chocolate A (milky chocolate), chocolate B (creamy chocolate), chocolate C (chocolate ball), and reference food (glucose solution). Glucose, insulin, and GLP-1 concentrations were assessed at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after consumption of the test foods. The glycemic responses of the three chocolates were lower than those of the reference food at 30 and 45 min (P<0.001). However, the insulin and GLP-1 responses did not differ between the three chocolates and the reference food. The GI value of chocolates A, B, and C were 39.2, 47.8, and 33.7, respectively; all GI values were lower than that of the reference food. The II values of all test foods were similar, aside for chocolate B (97.9). All chocolates were classified as low-GL. This study showed that glycemic responses depends on the amount of carbohydrates and the physical properties. Further research is required to examine incretin responses and to determine if the type of chocolate can influence metabolic response beyond glycemia.