Healthy Chocolate Choices
When is chocolate okay to eat? There have lately been reports that the fat in dark chocolate containsa healthy monosaturated fat oleic acid, which you can also find in olive oil. I’ve also heard that chocolate contains phytochemicals, which are good for the heart, and that their flavionids have a more potent effect on the body than vitamin C! But what about the other fats and calories? What should we believe?
Charles Stuart Platkin studies different types of chocolate and makes some interesting conclusions.
Here are just two of the comparisons that he made:
M&Ms vs. Raisinets (chocolate-covered raisins)
Both were similar in calories but raisins contain flavanols, the phytochemicals that give cocoa its health power. He noted that buying chocolate in small pieces made it last longer than bars of chocolate… so long as you didnt’ empty the whole bag in your mouth at once!!
Health Bars vs. Regular Chocolate Bars
He didn’t find much difference between the health bars and the regular bars. Here’s his analysis:
* Hershey’s Special Dark (1.4 ounces): 220 calories, 12g fat, 25g carbs
* Clif Builder’s Chocolate Bar (2.4 ounces): 270 calories, 8g fat, 30g carbs
* Chocolate PowerBar (2.3 ounces): 230 calories, 2g fat, 45g carbs
* Scharffen Berger 70% Bittersweet Chocolate (1 ounce): 170 calories, 12g fat, 14g carbs
* Snickers (2.07 ounces): 280 calories, 14g fat, 35g carbs
* Hershey’s Milk Chocolate (1.55 ounces): 230 calories, 13g fat, 25g carbs
* Milky Way (2.05 ounces): 270 calories, 10g fat, 41g carbs
Dark chocolate was better for you because it contained antiocidants and flavinoids.
You can read the whole article here, but the overall message is that dark chocolate is better for you than milk chocolate, and you should always read the label, regardless of whether something is labelled “low-fat”, “health” or whatever.