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> “Dark chocolate probably has some beneficial properties to it,” said Salt Sugar Fat author Michael Moss, “but generally you have to eat so much of it to get a
by JosephLark 9y ago
> “Dark chocolate probably has some beneficial properties to it,” said Salt Sugar Fat author Michael Moss, “but generally you have to eat so much of it to get any benefit that it’s kind of daunting, or something else in the product counteracts the benefits. In the case of chocolate, it’s probably going to be sugar.”
Interestingly, the chart just below this quotation shows that it takes ~70 calories of straight cocoa powder to get a "heart healthy" dose of flavanols. With dark chocolate, which has less sugar as the cocoa percentage goes up, they don't distinguish the type but you need 750 calories. That's quite a bit.
70% cocoa dark chocolate is somewhat (not entirely) palatable to most people, but getting up to 85% becomes a distinguished taste even for dark chocolate lovers.
Jives with my first thoughts after reading the submitted headline: that even if they could show cocoa was good for you, there is no way that translates into the standard Mars chocolate bars. I can totally see how it benefits Mars though - I've seen people give way more twisted justifications for eating junk food than "cocoa is good for you" as an excuse when eating a chocolate bar.
- aaron-lebo 9y agoNot really a dark chocolate connoisseur, but your post got me wondering. Hershey's Special Dark (which a lot of people are probably familiar with and is way better than regular Hershey's milk chocolate) is 45%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hershey%27s_Special_Dark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hershey%27s_Special_Dark Can't imagine 80%, but it's easy to get on Amazon. Thanks for the extra weight.
- lokerfoi 9y ago75% is pretty standard in Europe. I've tried a couple of 99% cocoa chocolates too, but these are really for the hardcore lovers (gets glued to the teeth and other taste issues).
- pierrec 9y ago>gets glued to your teeth Because you're not supposed to chew it (I believe that's even written in the "tasting tips" on the Lindt packaging at least). Bite off small bits and let them melt in your mouth. It's kind of like a dark and very tasty coffee, if that sounds good to you, give it a try. Now if only I could find it in the supermarkets around here... (as is common in France)
- tarsinge 9y agoThanks for the tip, had my mouth completely glued first time I took a big chunk of 100%
- blackguardx 9y agoI recommend trying Lindt chocolate bars. It is a good, entry-level (sort of cheap) chocolate brand that is pretty wildly available. Try the 70% and then work your way up to 90%. They make a 99% as well, but it is harder to find.
- ianai 9y agoI think my next crazy taste test will be straight cocoa nibs whole.
- colechristensen 9y agoYou can buy them fairly readily. They're good in yogurt.
- armandososa 9y agocrush toasted cocoa nibs with some agave nectar and they are great on spreads.
- jibe 9y agoSo take the sugar out of chocolate, then add it back on top?
- jmiserez 9y agoI don’t know how you came to this conclusion, but Lindt is not an entry-level (whatever that means) chocolate brand in my book. What would you suggest is better?
- blackguardx 9y agoLindt is entry-level because it is cheap. I actually prefer Lindt to many higher-end brands. There are certainly better chocolate bars, but the price difference is often hard to justify.
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- bdamm 9y ago82% can be found in common drug stores; at least in SF Bay Area and Portland area.
- athenot 9y ago70%, 85% and even higher are available at the regular grocery store (Publix here in the Southeast). Lindt is one of the available brands.
- sn9 9y agoMost large grocery stores carry dark chocolates of anywhere from 60% to 100% dark chocolate. It's not hard to find 100% in my experience.
- dwighttk 9y agoTrader Joe's has a 72% bar that is really good.
- surfmike 9y agoThe first 100% cocoa bar I've had that was actually pretty good was: Montezuma Absolute Dark Chocolate Black from the UK. I found it once at my Trader Joe's and sadly haven't seen it since. Seriously tempted to order a supply from abroad despite the high shipping cost.
- cstrahan 9y agoFor a short while, we had some of those bars on sale at our local Trader Joe’s grocery store in Brooklyn, New York. They were pretty good. I have a friend that runs a coffee shop, where he also makes chocolate. The 100% chocolate he made was really, really good.
- gilbetron 9y agoMy wife has a square or two of Ghirardelli 86% dark chocolate each day - one square being about 60 calories. I can't imagine eating over a dozen per day!
- nobodyorother 9y agoWhat does 70 calories of chocolate weigh, and what's chocolate's LD50? ...What's the maximum number of heart-healthy flavanol doses?
- thinkharder 9y ago70 Calories of chocolate is about 11-12g of (70-85%) dark chocolate, or 12-13g of Milk Chocolate(1). Chocolate's LD50 is approximately 1000g/Kg(2). So basically your body weight in chocolate. It's the theobromine that kills you, same as dogs, but they're much more sensitive to it. And it strongly depends on the kind of chocolate, pure cocoa is much higher in theobromine than milk chocolate: So 5 oz of Cocoa powder ~= 8.6 oz of Baking chocolate ~= 26 oz of Semi-sweet ~= 27oz of dark chocolate ~= 59 oz of Milk Chocolate ~= 3583 oz of White chocolate.(3) (White chocolate has no cocoa powder in it, just cocoa butter.) Note that these comparisons are of just the theobromine content, not the the 'healthy' stuff in chocolate. I have personally tested this back when my metabolism was young by eating 2 pounds of Hershey's Kisses in one evening with no ill effects. :) I don't think we know that much about flavonols, quercetin is the most studied and most of the studies used a 1000 mg/day dose, but I don't find any info about a most effective or maximum dosage.(4) The reason to eat chocolate is cause it tastes fucking awesome. If you're trying to eat it for your health I feel sad for you. ;-) 1.)http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-average-all-brands_b-YmlkPTE.html#chocolate http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-average-all-bra... 2.)http://blogs.plos.org/speakeasyscience/2012/02/14/the-curious-toxic-chemistry-of-chocolate/ http://blogs.plos.org/speakeasyscience/2012/02/14/the-curiou... 3.)http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-chart-interactive http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-cha... 4.)https://examine.com/supplements/cocoa-extract/ https://examine.com/supplements/cocoa-extract/
- oliwarner 9y ago"~70 calories of straight cocoa powder" is what the parent comment says, not 70 calories of chocolate. That's an odd way to measure it though. Maybe they meant grams. If they didn't you have another battle because the calorific content between brands of cocoa powder varies wildly 70kcal may be as little as 17g, or as much as 40g. Who knows.
- armandososa 9y agoI am a diabetic (since 2015) and have come to really appreciate 90% dark chocolate. Maybe it's weird coming from me, because I was legit addicted to it, but added sugar is sooooo overrated.
- bitexploder 9y ago85% or better and some no sugar almond butter is really nice. I have come to prefer it, and occasionally Justin's with some sugar (but not a lot, 20g-30g of carbs). It is underrated health food. Easy to travel with, filling, etc.
- QAPereo 9y agoTo be fair, “come to appreciate” sounds a lot an “acquired taste” you know? Curious aside though, what brand do you go for? I have a friend who likes similarly dark chocolate and I’m always on the lookout for presents.
- agumonkey 9y agoI had to cut sugar, I tried things with less in it, so I ramped up the dark chocolate %. 70% is my sweet spot. I hope I can get a little benefits from this (and other nutrients of course). Although dark chocolate also contains bromide derivatives who can be harmful too.
- gmac 9y agoA really good dark chocolate need not be an acquired taste. In the UK, Co-op's own brand 85% dark chocolate is excellent. It's rich enough that you'll probably never want more than a square or two at one go (which I count as a point in is favour), but it's fruity and delicious. Also Sainsbury's Organic Santo Domingo 74% gives much fancier bars at several times the price a run for their money. Green & Black's 70%, on the other hand, which is widely available, is over-priced, chalky, bitter, marketing-led nonsense.
- kaybe 9y agoNowadays I'm eating pure chocolate beans directly. One can even get them in 'nib' form at the supermarket (not cheap but it lasts a while). It's actually really good, though not a candy anymore, more like nuts. I can recommend mixing with yoghurt and banana.
- lisper 9y ago> I'm eating pure chocolate beans You probably meant CACAO beans (note: not cocoa, which is a product made from cacao). There are actually products called chocolate beans, but they are typically just pieces of chocolate that have been formed to look like beans.
- jibe 9y agoJibes with your first thought.