“Fake” Dark Chocolate is Unhealthy

It seems like clockwork that the news media has a story about the ways a common food can help defend against heart attacks, cancer, and various other terminal diseases. Every Valentine’s Day there is a push by local media for the predictable fluff story about the wonders of chocolate for your body.

As much as I’d like to believe dark chocolate is the lesser evil of the candy world, it seems odd that the value of antioxidants can allow people to overlook the amount of sugar, fat, and calories contained in most dark chocolate.

After a little searching I discovered this article from 2007 by BBC News that confirmed my suspicion. The article cites that many manufacturers are making “fake” dark chocolate. A real dark chocolate contains a good amount of flavanols (antioxidants) from the cocoa plant. If kept in the chocolate making process, the end product is typically more bitter than other processed chocolates. The more bitter the chocolate, the less it sells. In order to still push dark chocolate, many manufacturers end up removing many antioxidants and add artificial coloring or carmelize the cocoa beans for a darker color. Once the flavanols are removed,  sugar or fat are added to the mix to help the taste. The new ingredients make the health benefits of eating dark chocolate almost non-existent. Eating some dark chocolates be just as unhealthy as chowing down on milk chocolate.

Take a look at these criteria from internet doctor and pitch-man, Dr. Dave.

The key features of healthy chocolate are the following:

1) High cacao content with special cold processing to maintain the huge natural antioxidant content.

2) Low added sugar content and reliance on natural sweeteners like Agave, brown rice syrup and natural sugar cane so that people with diabetes or other sugar problems can eat them without problems.

3) In cookies and bars the same kinds of chocolates can be combined with high natural fiber content to enhance the cleansing and detoxifying properties of chocolate and the various berries like Acai as well.

4) A decent portion size for the amount of calories. One piece of dense rich chocolate may be enough to satisfy the sweet tooth if it’s a decent size. This can actually enhance the weight loss properties of chocolate.

5) A higher than normal antioxidant content. Research is on going but suggests that chocolate is a great way to deliver the added antioxidant benefits of berries and perhaps other healthy additives like probiotics. In some cases it appears to be the superior way to get these into your body.

Short of only buying dark chocolate from specialty food shops, it is good to check the amount of sugar, calories, and fat on the nutrition label of all dark chocolate you consume. Also remember that terms such as “natural,” “organic,” or containing cocoa nibs are indicative of a dark chocolate’s antioxidant levels.

If you’re looking for a few of the true dark chocolate brands, check out Hersey’s Extra Dark and Dagoba Dark Blends.

Photo: f10n4

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