The idea that one chocolate bar can be “healthier” than another is a “fallacy”, regardless of how dark it is, a leading nutritionist has claimed.
In recent years, novel products with labels such as “raw”, “better for you” and “no added sugar” have appeared on the snack market.
There are also varieties that cost up to $20 a package, such as cacao (raw, cold-pressed cocoa beans) and “raw” chocolate, which usually means little sugar has been added.
Some dark chocolate bars claim to be “better for you” because they contain more flavanols, as studies suggest. protect yourself from heart problems.
But Dr. Marion Nestle, professor emerita at New York University and nutritionist, told DailyMail.com that there is so little of this nutrient in the bars that someone would have to eat “immoderate” amounts to get enough.
Ironically, this would put them at risk of weight gain, diabetes and heart disease, due to the inevitable excess calories.
UPDATE
Some nutritionists suggest that you would need to eat up to seven chocolate bars a day to get enough flavanols to experience any benefit, or 750 calories of dark chocolate, about half the recommended daily intake.
Dr Nestlé told DailyMail.com: ‘It is a fallacy to describe chocolate as healthy, but it is a great marketing strategy.
‘Chocolate is a sweet and as such should be enjoyed, in moderation, of course.
‘As a plant extract, cocoa has antioxidants that could promote health.
“But they are in such small quantities that you would need to eat chocolate without moderation to get its benefits.”
And he added: ‘And it’s important to control those calories!’
Suggestions that chocolate may be healthy have focused on flavanols, which have even been linked to improvements in brain function.
But when cocoa (raw beans from cocoa plants) is heated and ground into cocoa powder, many of the flavanols are broken down.
To make processed chocolate, the powder is mixed with sugars, cocoa butter and vegetable oils, which means more calories, sugar and fat.
Companies need to mix the powder with other substances because raw cocoa beans taste very bitter.
In milk chocolate bars, most of the bar is made up of sugars and fats.
But many dark chocolate bars also contain added sugar and fat to improve the flavor.
For example, Hu, a brand that claims to make “better-for-you” chocolate, makes 60g bars that contain about 190 calories and 8g of saturated fat per half.
One Hershey’s bar, weighing 43g, contains 210 calories and the same amount of saturated fat, the kind that can damage blood vessels.
And a Snickers bar, weighing 52 g, contains half as much saturated fat and about 250 calories, or just a little more per gram.
Other products, like Skin Glow’s vitamin-infused chocolate, contain as much sugar as two packages of Sour Patch Kid candy.
The researchers found that foods highest in toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium included baby food, root vegetables such as beets, rice and dark chocolate.
Nutritionists are careful not to completely demonize chocolate, saying it can still be part of a healthy, balanced diet.
Alabama-based nutritionist Dr Carolyn Williams told DailyMail.com: “If a little chocolate gives you satisfaction and pleasure from food, then it can be part of a healthy diet.”
‘So eating tons of chocolate every day won’t improve your health and I would never recommend it.
“But if it’s something you like, then eating a little can be beneficial.”
There is no official guide on how much chocolate you should eat each day.
But the American Heart Association suggests consuming no more than 100 calories of chocolate per day.
According to surveys, around 268 million Americans are self-confessed chocolate lovers, which represents approximately one in two people in the country.