The Myth of Chocolate – Is It Healthy or Unhealthy?
We dedicate this blog post to all the sweet tooths out there who sometimes wonder, “Is chocolate actually unhealthy after all?” Everyone knows those days when time drags on so slowly – especially when working from home. Boredom leads to cravings. But when the 15th trip to the fridge still doesn’t reveal a snack that really tempts you right now, you quickly reach for the last resort – a bar of chocolate. You tell yourself you’ll only eat one or maybe two pieces, but then – after just one tiny piece and another one… – suddenly the whole bar is gone and guilt sneaks in.
No matter if it’s dark, white, or milk chocolate – we all love the various forms of this delicious treat. The problem is, chocolate isn’t exactly healthy because it contains a lot of fat and sugar, and therefore many calories. But there’s also good news: especially dark chocolate contains many ingredients that can have a positive effect on blood pressure and heart health.
But now let’s finally get to the most important question – is chocolate healthy or unhealthy?
To answer this question, we first need to start with the basics. What exactly is in each type of chocolate, and what effects do these ingredients have on our bodies?
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Dark Chocolate: This type of chocolate is characterized by a particularly high cocoa content. Chocolate with more than 70% cocoa is called dark chocolate. From 55% cocoa content, it can be called bittersweet chocolate. Generally, the higher the cocoa content, the less milk it contains, and the more bitter and intense the taste. For all dark chocolate lovers, here’s the good news – this type is actually the healthiest! A bar of dark chocolate has about 500 calories and usually contains less than two teaspoons of sugar. The higher the cocoa content, the less sugar!
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Milk Chocolate: As the name suggests, this type of chocolate contains a lot of milk or milk powder. Everyone knows the typically mild and sweet taste of milk chocolate. This sweet treat contains much more sugar than, for example, bittersweet chocolate. Unfortunately, not only that – due to the high milk or milk powder content, it also has a higher fat content. This means one thing – milk chocolate is less healthy.
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White Chocolate: If you look closely, white chocolate isn’t really chocolate – did you know that? That’s because it contains no cocoa solids, only cocoa butter. This also gives it the familiar pale yellow color. White chocolate also contains a lot of sugar, milk, and other flavorings like vanilla. You can probably guess now: white chocolate, due to its high fat and sugar content, is the least healthy variety!
But now let’s return to some positive aspects.
You sweet tooths out there can rejoice because chocolate has been proven to have some positive effects on the body! Especially dark chocolate contains a high amount of antioxidants. Specifically, cocoa beans contain many polyphenols and flavonoids. These substances are known to neutralize free radicals in cells. This is positive because free radicals can cause serious diseases, such as heart attacks, arthritis, and cancer. Flavonoids, in particular, can counteract these effects! They are also known to lower blood pressure and can apparently regulate blood sugar levels. Especially catechins – substances that belong to the flavonoids – have positive effects on the body. You might already know these from green and black tea. Catechins are real all-rounders – they can counteract stress hormones, kill various bacterial strains in the body, and even prevent inflammation! And here’s the kicker: dark chocolate contains four times as many catechins as tea. However, this does not mean that chocolate is four times as healthy as tea. Still, if you enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate at your coffee break, you’re definitely not doing anything wrong!
Additionally, it has been scientifically proven that chocolate can stimulate blood flow to the brain. This has similar effects to drinking coffee and can lead to better performance on certain tasks and temporarily increased brain alertness.
Ultimately, the rule is always – dose makes the poison. Even dark chocolate should only be consumed in small amounts because it is still a processed sweet that contains a lot of fat, sugar, and therefore calories. It is well known that fat and sugar are very bad for the body. They can promote diabetes and are also bad for teeth and skin. We’re sorry if we raised your hopes too high with the above text, but unfortunately, you shouldn’t binge on white and milk chocolate. These two little sins contain fewer flavonoids but more fat and sugar.
So, we’ve cleared up the first myth about chocolate. Now let’s move on to the second statement:
Chocolate makes you happy. But is that true?
Almost everyone knows it: you’re stressed, sad, frustrated, angry, offended, or just in a bad mood. And what helps? What instantly improves your mood? Of course, a little piece of chocolate.
The problem is, from a scientific perspective, this unfortunately isn’t true. The substance said to cause chocolate’s happiness effect is phenylethylamine. The good news is: it is actually present in chocolate. This substance acts on the neurotransmitters in your brain and causes the release of the “happiness hormone” serotonin. The bad news: the effect of phenylethylamine is still scientifically very controversial, and the amount in chocolate is very small – about the same as in cheese. Other substances in chocolate that are supposed to cause feelings of happiness, like theobromine, phenylethylamine, cannabinoidamide, and tryptophan, are also present in too small amounts to have noticeable effects. Strictly scientifically speaking, the claim that chocolate makes you happy is therefore unfortunately not true.
However, chocolate can still act as a comfort food. But this only works if we want the little sin to release its magic. This means chocolate has positive psychological effects on your mood because if you associate enjoying chocolate with something positive, a piece of the little sin can actually improve your mood. This isn’t because chocolate is a psychological miracle cure, but simply because your brain has learned to release feelings of happiness when you treat yourself to chocolate! Chocolate then takes on a reward function, and your body automatically releases the neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphins after consumption.
Conclusion
We hope this blog post has shed some light on the myth of chocolate. But let us leave you with one last tip – bitter chocolate is better chocolate. As mentioned before, dark chocolate contains less sugar and fewer calories compared to its sweet competitors – white and milk chocolate.
In general, a small piece of chocolate won’t hurt because chocolate can make us happy. And if you otherwise pay attention to a balanced and healthy diet, exercise regularly, and are mindful of your health, the little sin in small amounts can’t be bad at all!
