What is the Healthiest Type of Chocolate?

We’ve all heard that chocolate is a healthy food item. However, we should not ignore the fact that there are many kinds of chocolate containing additives and sugar that seriously reduce the nutritional quality.

Chocolate is one of the most consumed foods today. This nutrient has good organoleptic properties. However, from a nutritional point of view, it is not possible to say that all types of chocolate are of the same quality. Therefore, it is important to know which is the healthiest chocolate.

Have you noticed that there are a lot of chocolate advertisements on the market? So, which of these might be the best options? We explain below what you should pay attention to when buying chocolate so that you do not have any doubts about it.

Sugar-Free Chocolate

When choosing chocolate, it is necessary to consider the effects of sugar on the body. It is a known fact that this nutrient increases the risk of obesity. In addition, as pointed out in an article published in the journal Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, sugar has many effects on metabolic health.

However, it is not good to choose chocolate with artificial sweeteners instead of this carbohydrate source. This group of substances is quite harmful to the intestinal microbiota. It should also be underlined that artificial sweeteners carry the risk of increasing insulin resistance.

For this reason, the best option would be to choose chocolates with a high cocoa content. In this context, chocolates containing at least 75% cocoa are a positive nutrient for health.

Cocoa and Antioxidant Feature

Cocoa is a plant with lipid (containing fat and oil-like substances) and phytonutrients. According to an article published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, phytonutrients are nutrients with high antioxidant capacity.

Regular intake of these nutrients is necessary for the prevention of cell aging. Moreover, these foods reduce the risk of premature death and also reduce the chances of contracting various diseases in the medium and long term.

Dark chocolate found in nature is one of the richest foodstuffs in terms of antioxidant capacity. It should be included in a wide and balanced diet with coffee and red fruits.

However, at this point, cocoa should not be confused with chocolate. Because chocolate usually contains sugar in different proportions. For this reason, it is important to choose chocolate options with the least amount of carbohydrates.

White Chocolate Is Not Healthy

Among the chocolates, some do not belong to the group we recommend above and are not rich in cocoa. These include white chocolate, which is largely made of fat and sugar.

The nutritional properties of white chocolate are extremely low. It is a type of chocolate that should be avoided as much as possible, as it can be harmful to health if consumed continuously.

Another example is nut creams served with chocolate. Such products contain industrial oils and refined sugar. These foods, which are organoleptic (sensory) attractive, actually have very low nutritional value. However, it is seen that children can easily reach these common foodstuffs.

Healthy Chocolate Can Be Included in Your Nutrition Program

Chocolate is part of a broad and healthy diet. However, not every type of chocolate is included in this group, nor does it have the same nutritional properties. For this reason, it is necessary to prefer chocolates that contain high amounts of cocoa and low amounts of sugar.

Remember, artificial sweeteners are not a healthy alternative to high-glycemic carbohydrates. These substances often cause various problems in the microbiota. As a result, metabolic health is adversely affected.

In addition to these, it should be kept in mind that every product classified as chocolate does not contain cocoa. After all, it is cocoa that provides all the antioxidant content, and therefore this is the substance that is beneficial for health.

When we choose a bar of suitable chocolate, we can include it in our diet regularly. This nutrient is suitable and useful as a snack. Because in daily consumption, it can be consumed easily and with pleasure together with fruit and dairy products.

Similarly, chocolate can be used to make desserts. However, the thing to be considered at this point is that the content of the dessert is rich in nutritional value and excessive amounts of sugar and flour are not used.