MYTH: Chocolate is full of sugar!

People who are conscious of their food choices today seem to have the idea that chocolate is an unhealthy sweet, full of sugar and harmful to ones health. Those who are trying to cut back on refined sugar and sugar in general (which personally I think is a great idea), assume they cannot eat chocolate anymore. Even people on keto or low-carb diets also argue that they will have to give up chocolate altogether. It is true that over the past few generations, refined sugars have crept into our diets tremendously. We eat far too much sugar than we should, and consume far more than can be found naturally in whole foods. However, this doesn’t mean you need to cutout chocolate altogether, or begin eating 100% unsweetened chocolate bars (AKA snake oil as most of them are).

What do we mean by chocolate?

Image by @blackieshoot Most chocolate truffles do contain high amounts of sugar. The reason is they are filled with ganaches that often introduce more sugar in the recipe. Or, the ganaches are made from milk or white chocolate with a high percentage of sugar already in them. Although these can be enjoyed once in a while as a treat, as part of a healthy lifestyle, consuming too many high-sugar chocolate truffles (like consuming too many high-sugar foods in general) likely will have negative impacts on your blood sugar levels, energy levels, and overall health. This does not mean that chocolate in and of itself is not healthful.

First we need to define what we mean when we say “chocolate”. Originally, chocolate was a water-based drink much like tea or coffee today, and often not sweetened. Today, on the other hand, most chocolate you come in contact with is loaded with sugar or used as an ingredient in a high-sugar dessert.

When someone says “chocolate” they may think candy bars, which are full of other things other than chocolate, such as cookies, wafers, nuts, caramels, and often a host of other ingredients that are not part of a healthy lifestyle. Keep in mind that I myself am not one to vilify any particular food, especially one that be harvested naturally (outside of a chemistry lab). Cane sugar itself is not a harmful food, but it is the overconsumption of sugar that is the problem. Moderation is key, and that moderation is probably a lot less than we would expect. But I digress.

When most people say “chocolate”, the default in their mind is most often milk chocolate. Why does this matter? Commercial milk chocolate is usually around 30% cocoa bean give or take, and the other 70% is a mixture of sugar and milk powder. Keep in mind that the cocoa bean itself has no sugar, is a high fat seed like an almond, and contains a plethora of nutrients. So, when I say the word “chocolate” the default in my head is referring to dark chocolate, somewhere around 70% cocoa bean. This 70% dark chocolate is less like a candy or confection, and more similar to peanut butter. Except that it happens to be solid at room temperature and can be shaped into a bar (unlike other nut butters).

So, if your idea of chocolate is 30% milk chocolate, candy bars filled with cookies and caramel covered in chocolate coatings, truffles and bonbons with very sweet ganaches, then yes, chocolate is full of sugar. These are things that should be enjoyed sparingly if you want limit your dietary refined sugar intake. As well, there is much less nutritional content as a percentage, since the cocoa bean is a much smaller proportion of the products (as refined sugars, flour, and other fats predominate).

However, if you enjoy dark chocolate, and appreciate the spectrum of flavours within fine single origin dark chocolates, then no, your chocolate is not full of sugar. And no, it is not an unhealthy treat. You can check out my research blog to learn more. In fact, the high percentage dark chocolates also include healthy fatty acids such as oleic acid (also found in olive oil), an array of minerals, and some of the highest levels of flavanols (antioxidants) of all of our foods (including high antioxidant fruits). When you read about studies that suggest benefits from consuming chocolate, it is nearly always dark chocolate, and certainly not candy bars and lower percentage milk chocolate. However, many of those studies also don’t focus on 100% or very high percentage, but rather 60-70% commercial dark chocolate. The sugar in those dark chocolates don’t automatically cancel out the many health benefits attributed to dark chocolate and cocoa beans.

So let’s compare chocolate to other foods to get an idea of both sugar content per portion, as well as glycemic index which is way to measure how much of an impact foods (particularly carbohydrates) have on your blood sugar and insulin levels. By placing dark chocolate in context with other foods we can have a more accurate representation of how much sugar we consume when we eat chocolate, and how it may impact our bodies relative to other foods.

Portion sizes of chocolate

One thing I face often is that my idea of a sensible amount of chocolate is not what many people today think. Most people think you are intended to finish a whole bar of chocolate in one sitting. Eating a full chocolate bar in one sitting is not a sensible amount of chocolate to eat in most cases, contrary to what you may be used to. This is not from a from a “healthy living” point of view, this is from a general diet point of view. Let’s look into why.

Table 1. Chocolate and various foods at 100g and their corresponding average calories as well as sugar content. Calories are averages, and have been rounded up or down for simplicity. Table by Bean To Bar World.

Fruits, like apples and oranges, or dried fruits such as raisins and cranberries contain a lot of sugar. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with consuming fresh or dried fruits every day or most days. However, too much fruit does carry with it high levels of sugars. This is why those with diabetes or on keto diets greatly reduce or eliminate many fruits from their diet. Eating too much fruit can also cause stomach cramping and diarrhea. Fruit is something we should obviously include in our diet, but like all good things there is a limit to how much one should be consuming on a daily or weekly basis. The point here is that any foods that are consumed in excess, even ones deemed highly nutritious, can be harmful to our overall health. Too much of a good thing is not necessary beneficial to you. They should be consumed in amounts that benefit us most, and this amount varies from food to food.

When someone considers eating “some chocolate”, what is a considered a normal or sensible amount? For instance, eating one burger or a couple triangles of watermelon is considered a sensible amount. If you were at a BBQ and had a burger and some watermelon slices, that would be considered one meal. But what if one were to sit down and eat 5 burgers or a whole entire watermelon in one sitting? Well, that sounds more like you were a competitor in an eating competition rather than enjoying a normal meal. When one says “I’m having some chocolate”, that usually means a full bar or package of chocolate either in one sitting or within one day. Is this a reasonable amount of chocolate? No it is not. Going back to my earlier example, it would be like eating 5 burgers, or an entire watermelon in one sitting. If you would consider that an unusual amount of burgers or watermelon to eat, then in actuality it is similar to eating a whole bar of chocolate. Let’s dig into this a little more.

A typical commercial chocolate bar is about 100 grams, and would average about 600 calories and 20 grams of sugar. Seems like a lot of calories, but 100 grams of chocolate is a lot to eat in one sitting. Would you eat 100g of peanut butter in one sitting? 100g of peanut butter is also about 600 calories as well, and about 10 grams of sugar if sweetened. Remember that chocolate bars are made by grinding up the seed of the cocoa fruit. This seed, just like almonds, cashews, and peanuts contain mostly fat. Even dark chocolate or 100% chocolate is high in calories not because of the sugar, but because it is made from a high fat seed just like any nuts either whole or ground up. The difference with chocolate is that at room temperature it becomes a solid and can be formed into shapes, unlike peanut or almond butter. Obviously many seeds and nuts such as peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, sesame seeds, macadamia nuts, and pecans are very beneficial to our health and part of a healthful diet. However, it does not mean we should consume copious amounts of it in a day. This is not different to dark chocolate.

This then raises the question of what is a sensible, moderate amount of chocolate to eat in one day? If you go to my research blog, you will see some studies that suggest moderate amounts of dark chocolate most days a week can lead to a number of health benefits related to cardiovascular health, bone density, and even memory and cognition. Their idea of a sensible amount of chocolate is around 7, 20, or 30 grams a day. This would be an amount of dark chocolate where one would reap the benefits of the antioxidants and minerals. However, consuming too much will eventually cancel out the those benefits, since you are likely to be consuming too much fat and or sugar. Again, fat and sugar are not bad for you, but the quantities (and types) can be. Table 2 shows a list of chocolates at various portions, such as a whole bar (which is not a reasonable amount of chocolate to eat in a day) and more sensible amounts such as 15 g (half an oz) or 30 g (1 oz), which would allow you to benefit from the nutrients dark chocolate has to offer. It also contains a column so that you can see the actual sugar content in grams and compare this to other portions of foods you may consume in one day.

You can see that eating a moderate portion of 70% dark chocolate is only 75 calories and 4 grams of sugar. A moderate portion of milk chocolate would be about the same amount of calories, and about 5 grams of sugar. A moderate amount of 80% dark chocolate would offer only 55 calories and 3 grams of sugar. Let’s say a moderate amount of 15 grams is still too little, so lets say about 30 grams, which is perhaps about half the weight of a fine chocolate bar these days (the same ones sold in my online shop). A 70% dark chocolate at 30 grams is 150 calories and 8 grams of sugar, not an unreasonable amount of sugar to consume in a day. A couple tablespoons of regular sweetened peanut butter is 190 calories, and 4 grams of sugar. The dark chocolate is less in calories, and only a few more grams of sugar, which if taken into your entire daily intake is not a great deal.

Let’s make other comparisons of moderate amounts of dark chocolate with other foods. A moderate 15 grams of dark chocolate is 75 calories, compared to 240 and 235 calories of about the same weight in coconut oil or olive oil. And what about sugar content? A whole peach has 13 grams of sugar, compared to the 4 grams with a moderate portion of dark chocolate. A regular black coffee with two teaspoons of sugar has double the amount of sugar (8 grams) when compared to a moderate amount of fine dark chocolate, or the same amount of sugar as half a fine chocolate bar (about 30 grams of chocolate). A couple sliced of bread contain 3 grams of sugar, while 15 grams of dark chocolate and 4 grams of sugar, both of which are a reasonable amount to eat in one sitting.

When you compare a moderate sensible amount of dark chocolate in either sugar or calories to other foods we consume, you can see that dark chocolate is not some unhealthy junk food. It is equivalent in many ways to say nut butters, and can be quite comparable to other healthful foods we eat in regards to sugar content.

Now if you are new to fine chocolate, you may think it is ridiculous to eat only a few pieces or 15 grams of chocolate in a day. If you are going to eat chocolate, you’re going to eat a good amount! Fair enough. However, as I tell people in my tastings and classes, a fine chocolate bar is not intended to be consumed in one sitting. It’s like a fine bottle of wine, you have one glass here and there. Or perhaps a fine whiskey, that you have for a while and enjoy a few shots every so often. Fine chocolate is the same. The reason is that the flavours are deeper, more interesting, and more worth taking the time with. You don’t throw back a few pieces, chew, and swallow. You enjoy a few pieces over 5-10 minutes, as you would a nice drink to appreciate the complex and interesting flavours.

Glycemic Index

Sugar content is not the only aspect when it comes to sugar in our foods. Some people refer to a glycemic index when considering what carbohydrates or foods they can eat or should avoid. A glycemic index is a reference table that suggests to you the impact a certain food may have on your blood sugar. This is important to those combating diabetes, those on keto diets, or even those interested in fasting and being aware of ones own insulin levels.

Table 3. Glycemic index of dark and milk chocolate, compared to other foods we normally consider part of a healthy diet. Green foods are low-GI (55 or less), blue is moderate (56-69), and orange is high (70 and up).

Chocolate does contain sugar, but keep in mind that especially in high percentage chocolates, there is more fat than sugar. That fat acts somewhat like a buffer to the sugar content, and actually lowers it on the glycemic index. Remember that a moderate amount of dark chocolate only contains between 3-8 grams of sugar depending on the amount or the percentage of the dark chocolate. Table 3 shows you where dark and milk chocolate rank in regards to the glycemic index. Anything with a GI of 55 or lower is considered a low GI food (shown in green). Any foods with a GI of 70 or above are considered high (in orange). Dark chocolate has a lower GI than lentils, apples, peaches, rolled oats, and even vegetable soup (although if home made or store bought it doesn’t specify).

GI is only part of the issue, as sugar content in vegetable soup and lentils is lower than chocolate, and the GI is based on carbohydrates in general not just sugar. However, as mentioned earlier, there is still less sugar in dark chocolate than most fruits fresh or dried. Even milk chocolate has a lower GI, and therefore less of an impact on blood sugar levels, than grapes, brown, rice, and a potato. Therefore, eating a moderate amount of dark chocolate may have less of an impact on your blood sugar than eating many fruits, vegetables, grains, and root vegetables. However, if you were to eat a full bar, or a candy bar instead of dark chocolate, then obviously it would be quite a different story. Here we are referring to solid dark or milk chocolate bars, as sold in the online shop. Also keep in mind that the milk chocolate GI posted here is for commercial milk chocolate, which has a cocoa content of around 30%. The milk chocolate sold here is usually 50 and up to 65%, which would make it even lower on the GI scale.

Conclusion

Eating a peach or a few slices of watermelon is not an issue for most people, even though they contain higher amounts of sugar than dark chocolate per weight. However, if you were to eat a basket of peaches or a whole watermelon regularly then that may begin to pose a problem. In the same way, eating an entire 100 gram or even 50gram chocolate bar every day or most days is quite in excess, even if our culture and eating habits have deemed it normal and reasonable. Again, the problem here is not the food itself, but portion size and frequency. Many foods are healthful if consumed in moderation and in balance with your regular diet.

Moderate amounts of dark chocolate (15-30 grams) not only contains a minimal amounts of sugar (single digits), it also contains an array of beneficial constituents such as minerals, antioxidants, and even oleic acid. Although there may be some people who cannot eat chocolate due to allergies or extremely strict diets, for the most part, dark chocolate can very easily fit into most diets if consumed in moderation with respect to other foods consumed.

If you are concerned with sugar content in your diet, and refer to GI scales when selecting foods, keep in mind that moderate amounts of dark chocolate can still fit very comfortably into a healthy low-carb lifestyle. A “no-carb” or “zero-sugar” diet is a different story, but if you do allow for even small amounts of sugar in your diet, then the good news is that chocolate does not have to be eliminated from your diet. Of course, you will have to make that decision for yourself (or with the guidance of a nutritionist) and not solely based on what I write here. The purpose of this post was to present you with data on sugar content and GI index of chocolate, and simply compare it to other foods.