Many people have heard, “dark chocolate is good for you,” but is it really? Let’s first talk about three types of chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. Chocolate’s darkness is determined by the proportion of cocoa solids made from cocoa beans, mixed with cocoa butter, and sugar.
Milk chocolate is the most popular type in America, and it only contains about 10% cocoa liquor – the paste made from ground, roasted, shelled, and fermented cocoa beans that contains both nonfat cocoa solids and cocoa butter – compared with a minimum of 35% found in dark chocolate.
White chocolate, however, only contains cocoa butter – no cocoa solids combined with sugar and other ingredients.
Most dark chocolate is high in flavonoids, particularly a subtype called flavanols that is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. However, according to Alice H. Lichtenstein, Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, she says “while dark chocolate has more flavanols than other types of chocolate, the data to suggest there is enough to have a health effect is thin at this point.”
So, when shopping for dark chocolate and enjoying it as part of your overall healthy diet, just remember to enjoy in moderation, and look for dark chocolate with a higher “percent cacao” figure on the label.
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