Is dark chocolate healthier than milk chocolate this Easter?

Easter chocolate is filling supermarket shelves. While some shoppers immediately choose milk chocolate eggs, others stop at the dark chocolate options because they believe they are the healthier alternative.

Dark chocolate is widely seen as the "better" choice, largely because it tends to have more cocoa and less sugar than milk chocolate.

But does dark chocolate really offer greater health benefits?

Here is what the evidence shows.

How do dark chocolate and milk chocolate compare?

Every type of chocolate starts with the cocoa, or cacao, bean. These beans are the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree, a tropical species originating in Central and South America.

When the beans are processed, they produce cocoa solids, the bitter component, and cocoa butter, the fat that creates chocolate's smooth consistency.

Chocolate contains cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. Milk chocolate also includes either milk powder or condensed milk.

Dark chocolate normally has a substantially greater cocoa-solids content, typically ranging from 50–90%.

By comparison, milk chocolate usually contains 20–30% cocoa solids, while milk ingredients and sugar account for most of the rest.

What are the nutritional benefits?

Since dark chocolate has more cocoa solids than milk chocolate, it generally supplies modestly higher quantities of some minerals.

The table compares milk chocolate (30% cocoa) with dark chocolate (more than 60% cocoa) for a 20-gram serving – approximately one row from a Lindt chocolate block.

Dark chocolate contains higher amounts of minerals including magnesium, iron and zinc. It also has considerably more caffeine, although far less than a typical cup of coffee, which contains about 100mg.

Because of its milk solids, milk chocolate provides much more calcium, though it also tends to contain more added sugar.

Cocoa naturally contains abundant plant compounds known as polyphenols. In the body, these work as antioxidants, helping to shield cells from damage.

The higher cocoa content in dark chocolate means it also has greater levels of these compounds. Dark chocolate contains about five times as many flavanols, a form of polyphenol, as milk chocolate.

Among foods commonly recognised for their antioxidant levels, cocoa has around 17 times more catechins, another polyphenol type, in each serving than black tea. It also has roughly three times as much as red wine.

Does dark chocolate improve your health?

Studies of cocoa and dark chocolate have identified some potentially interesting effects, especially in relation to heart health.

Cocoa flavanols seem to assist blood vessels in relaxing and may promote improved blood flow. In some clinical trials, people consuming cocoa products experienced small decreases in blood pressure and better measures of blood-vessel function.

More broadly, evidence indicates that flavanol-rich diets could be associated with a reduced overall risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, there are significant limitations to these findings.

A number of trials use cocoa extracts with very high flavanol concentrations. Other studies use specially formulated chocolate rather than standard chocolate bars or supermarket Easter eggs. The tested doses are also frequently much higher and more concentrated than the amounts people would usually eat.

One large umbrella review, meaning a review of reviews, covering more than one million participants found associations between chocolate consumption and lower risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes.

Yet the overall evidence quality was judged to be weak or very low, mainly because many studies were observational. Such studies can reveal patterns, but cannot demonstrate that chocolate itself was responsible for the benefits.

In short, cocoa contains beneficial plant compounds, but the chocolate most people eat is not a health supplement.

But doesn't dark chocolate contain less sugar?

Selecting dark chocolate does not necessarily make it the healthier choice, particularly in terms of sugar. Certain products contain unexpectedly large quantities.

According to the recipe and cocoa percentage, some dark chocolate products are made up of 40–50% sugar.

For instance, a 150g dark chocolate Easter bunny that is 50% sugar can contain around 19 teaspoons of added sugar.

The same issue applies to Easter eggs. Sugar is still listed among the first and principal ingredients in some dark chocolate Easter eggs available in supermarkets, before cocoa butter. This indicates that sugar forms a substantial proportion of the product.

It is therefore worth turning over the packaging to check both the ingredients list and nutrition panel.

What dark chocolate should you choose this Easter?

Dark chocolate does have a nutritional edge over milk chocolate, although the extent of that advantage depends on its cocoa percentage and the way it is produced.

As a general guide, choose chocolate with 70% cocoa or above, and check the back of the packet before purchasing. With higher-quality dark chocolate, cocoa – rather than sugar – should be the first item on the ingredients list.

A higher-quality dark chocolate may list its ingredients in this order:
cocoa mass, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla.

A lower-quality dark chocolate may instead be listed as follows: sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifiers, flavour, milk solids.

When sugar appears first, it is the ingredient present in the greatest amount by weight.

Otherwise, opt for chocolate that you genuinely enjoy, while keeping an eye on portion sizes. Your overall dietary pattern is far more important than eating a few Easter eggs.

The true health benefit of Easter chocolate? Enjoying it with others.

Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland and Emily Burch, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Lecturer, Southern Cross University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.