Eat a bit better.
There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to chocolate. Is it healthy or not?
Short answer: small amounts of dark chocolate may be beneficial to your health. However, most people don’t eat chocolate this way.
Detailed Answer: Let’s start with some background. Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which are higher in antioxidants than even green tea or prunes. These antioxidants, known as flavanols, can help with heart health and reduction of blood pressure. There is a problem, though; these antioxidants make the beans very bitter.
From a flavor perspective, the chocolate most of us buy and eat bears little resemblance to the cocoa beans. They undergo a fermentation and roasting process to remove the bitter flavor, and, as a side effect, a substantial percentage of the healthy antioxidants.
Most chocolates consumed today are “milk chocolate”. The cocoa beans account for less than one third of their content. The rest is milk, sugar, and other ingredients.
Furthermore, milk actually negates some of the healthful antioxidant activity! That’s why experts recommend switching to dark chocolate, which has no milk and must contain at least 35% cocoa mass. The higher the cocoa mass, the more health benefits, and the less sugar.
Even so, dark chocolate is high in calories, sugar and saturated fats. A single serving (12 small squares weighing in at 1.5 ounces) has 250 calories and 60% of the daily maximum recommendation for saturated fat. It’s also got 2 teaspoons of sugar. That’s why dietitians recommend just one tiny square as a serving, instead of half a package.