Choosing Dark Chocolate

Even though Valentine’s Day has passed, remaining sweets and chocolate linger in kitchen cabinets, candy dishes, and supermarket aisles. Rather than feeling guilty for indulging in chocolate this year, try choosing a ‘dark’ chocolate product that has a higher percentage of cocoa than milk or white chocolate. 

While dark, milk, and white chocolate all have some derivatives from cocoa, they vary in their flavonol content, which provide health benefits from cocoa beans. Dark chocolate contains more flavanols and protein than milk chocolate and white chocolate. When there is more cocoa in dark chocolate, manufacturers typically add less sugar to the product too.

Research has shown that consuming dark chocolate after a meal can increase feelings of satiety. C.F Marsh demonstrated with post-menopausal women that those who ate dark chocolate prior to eating a meal consumed 20-26% less than women who ate milk or white chocolate before their meal. Other studies show similar findings that substituting dark chocolate for milk chocolate in recipes also diminished caloric intake by 20% during the next meal. Within the body, dark chocolate has been shown to keep blood glucose levels lower than milk and white chocolate, which prevents insulin levels from spiking. 

So if resisting chocolate altogether is too daunting, give dark chocolate a try. Experiment by substituting dark chocolate in recipes, or send your sweetheart a dark chocolate treat!  

Find this information and more at: https://journals.ohiolink.edu/pg_200?::NO:200:P200_ARTICLEID:348387372