A small quantity of dark chocolate was better than milk chocolate for insulin control and type 2 diabetes prevention, according to a new study.

If you’ve long assumed that you must deprive yourself of delicious foods in order to be healthy, a new study published today in The BMJ offers encouraging news: Eating dark chocolate has been associated with a reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Though flavonoids may confer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilatory benefits, the relationship between chocolate consumption and diabetes remains "controversial," the authors wrote, due to observational studies with inconsistent findings, and a lack of inquiry into health effects by chocolate subtype.

A large new study suggests there might be good reason to indulge in chocolate this holiday season: It found that people who regularly ate chocolate had a lower likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Eating dark chocolate has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Although consumption of milk chocolate has not been associated with risk reduction, physicians said Wednesday that people who ate at least five sweet servings of any chocolate each week saw their risk lowered by 10 percent compared to people who rarely or never ate chocolate.