3 Honest And Important Reasons Why You Should Eat Chocolate Everyday (3 of 3)

Nutritional profile

A bar of chocolate having anywhere between 70 to 80% cocoa will have roughly 170 calories per ounce. To break it down even further, you’ll get about 13 grams of carbs, 12 grams of saturated fat, 3 grams of fiber, and approximately 7 grams of sugar.

Does it contain caffeine?

It has caffeine and definitely at a higher concentration than milk chocolate. As per the United States Department of Agriculture, chocolate, which is between 70 and 85% dark will come with around 22 milligrams of caffeine. Sollid has given us a good comparison of the caffeine content of different items. An 8-ounce coffee has 100 milligrams, whereas a 1-ounce espresso has 60 milligrams. A takeaway from this would be that it’s best to avoid having dark chocolate too close to your bedtime.

Some risks associated with the consumption of dark chocolate

No matter how healthy a thing is, it is bound to impact your health negatively if you go overboard with its intake. The high caffeine content in dark chocolate may get you addicted.

Besides, chocolates are indulgent due to their sugar content. Sollid warns that dark chocolates aren’t completely different from regular ones. They too have sugar and unhealthy fats.

Therefore, indulging in dark chocolate on special occasions is alright, but it shouldn’t become a habit.

Those concerned about putting on weight can opt for the chocolate that has low milk and sugar. The deficit in these chocolates is made up by adding more cocoa. If you can’t take the bitterness of too high cocoa content or are craving sugar, the best choice would be fruits coated with dark chocolate.

How much to eat in a day?

The ideal amount of dark chocolate to have varies from person to person. A lot of factors are to be considered to answer this question such as your weight, daily activity level, and many more.

While some may have no issues having one with 170 calories, which has approximately 11 grams of fat, others might have to do with only half of this, says Sollid. As for any other treat, you have to exercise moderation while consuming dark chocolate as well. To be safe, it’s best to discuss this with a doctor or your nutritionist.

We hope you got all the information you were looking for regarding dark chocolate from this write-up. If you are worried about the sugar, you’d be consuming along with it, start with the recommended 70% dark and gradually move to a higher cocoa content.