Healthy Dark Chocolate Brands Revealed
One ounce of dark chocolate can boast plenty of health benefits and antioxidants.
However, you have to be careful about which brand of chocolate you buy.
All dark chocolate is not created equal.
Healthy Dark Chocolate Brands
- Sweetriot: Organic, fair trade, all natural dark chocolate. 60% with nibs, 70%, or 80%. Around 20 calories/square.
- Godiva 72% or 85% Cacao Chocolate Bars: Are not processed with alkali. This means the bitter taste along with those fantastic health benefits are still in tact.
- Lindt 70%, 85%, or 90% Cacao Bars: Also not processed with alkali.
- Brookside Dark Chocolate with Pomegranate or Blueberries: Even though this is processed with alkali, it contains a hefty serving of antioxidants from the fruits.
- Endangered Species Dark Chocolate Bars: Created ethically and sustainably so you can feel good about eating your sweet treat.
- Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Squares: Uses no cocoa powder as to intensify the chocolate flavor; Uses cocoa butter and liquor instead.
- Chocolove Bars
- Green & Black's Organic Bars
- Organic Taza Chocolate Bars
Less Nutrient Rich Chocolate
- Dove Dark Chocolate: Processed with alkali or, also called "Dutch processed", means that the acids in the chocolate are neutralized, and many of the antioxidants are lost.
- CocoaVia Supplement Packs: These are similar to Crystal Light, except they have flavanoids (the main chocolate antioxidant) added in. You will get some health benefits from this, but it is more important to eat the whole food that contains the fiber.
- Hershey's Special Dark
- Dark Chocolate M&M's
- Milky Way Midnight
- Nestle Dark Hot Chocolate: Still contains trans fat!
Key Takeaway Points
You want to try to choose dark chocolate that is greater than 70% cacao and check the ingredient list to make sure it contains no alkali, but once you get to 90% or 99% cacao, the chocolate has very little sugar and will taste extremely bitter.Proceed with caution. Overall, if we're going to indulge in chocolate, why not make sure you are getting all those antioxidants as well?
What is your favorite dark chocolate?
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22 Comments
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Created / Updated: February 1, 2012
I've been eating the Lindt 90% bar for several years and it's a delicious treat after a meal (two squares a day are only about 100 cal). What the majority of people don't understand is that if you don't FIRST break your addition to sugar, you'll never enjoy the taste and mouthfeel (letting it melt in your mouth before eating) of these extremely high percentage cacao products and therefore there health benefits. Our society is so addicted to sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats that it's no wonder we have 60+% overweight, 30+% obese, and all the preventable diseases associated with unhealthy eating behavior.
ReplyI can only get the 70% or 85% bar. Although I have seen a 99% Lindt in a few countries. The 99% is off the edge... so bitter you can really just let one square sit on your tongue and let it slowly melt and enjoy the intense cocoa!
ReplyI've become a big fan of cocoa nibs. The flavor is intense but delicious and there's a lot of ways to use them.
ReplyHow do you use the nibs?
I once bought a bag from an local Italian shop, but my lack of imagination meant I only ever spread them on my oatmeal.
ReplyI buy 70% dark chocolate bars from Trader Joes, the TJ brand imported from Belgium. That percentage seems about right for me. Anything more is just too bitter.
Reply70% is good, although I find that different brands can have different "mouth-feel" -- all matter of taste -- and cost.
Lindt seems to be cheaper (often discounted), and Green & Blacks are good as they tend to source the chocolate from organic or even fair trade sources.
ReplyMost dark chocolate from the big candy companies here in the States (Hershey, Mars, Dove) is highly processed and not the highest quality. You are much better off buying a European brand (like Lindt) where they keep the quality high instead of sacrificing the quality for price.
ReplyPeople don't realize that spending extra money in the short term is an long term investment in your health.
ReplyThanks for this post! I have been eating alot of dark chocolate lately and never knew about the alkali factor.
ReplyI much prefer the Xocai chocolate: independent laboratory tested with a huge number of clinical studies behind it; patented process that keeps all the 300+nutrients in the chocolate and even includes acai and blueberry in some of it. 3 pieces = 12 servings of fruits and vegetables in the anti-oxidants alone. None of the fatty acids (all important for the brain and other functions) kept in it.
ReplyYeah except Xocai is extremely expensive.
ReplyFor years now, I am an avid eater of dark chololate, normally 10-15g per day. This is based on several medical studies.
ReplyIn the "German Medical Weekly" ("Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift" / "DMW"), in the recent "Christmas Edition", there was (again) an article about the healthy effects of dark chocolate. The authors recommended 25g per day of chocolate with at least 85% cacao.
Now to the costs: In a nutshell, the higher the cacao percentage, the higher the price. Swiss chocolate of Lindt & Sprüngli is already in general quite expensive. And whatever brand you prefer: For 100g of 100% cacao, you have to pay four to six Euro in Germany.
There is, however, a 85% chocolate made by Storck, sold under the brand "Moser-Roth" in the discounter "Aldi". There you pay less than one Euro per 100g. Lindt costs more than twice.
The 70% Storck / Moser-Roth received an award as "best dark chocolate" by the German Magazine "Test", and that not only because of its taste, but because of its high quality. But now back to the 85%-version of Moser-Roth: The list of ingredients does not contain alkali, and there is no word on the topic "trans fat".
You could add that Storck is occasionally critized for its policy / products / advertisements, e.g. by the German group "foodwatch".
So: Maybe the 85% chocolate of Aldi is indeed a good, affordable alternative to the other pricey chocolates. I simply asked Storck via its German homepage whether their chocolate contains alkali / trans fat. If Storck answers, I will let you know.
I have seen Aldi stores in Australia, the UK, and continental Europe. Not sure if they are in the US.
Neither have I seen the Storck brand, but would be keen to try...
ReplyOoh, we have Aldi! I love that store! I have seen the chocolate there and have wondered if it was any good. I will have to try it!
ReplyToday, Storck / Moser Roth answered my questions. In essence:
1. The Moser Roth chocolate is *NOT* processed with alkali.
2. It cannot guaranteed that the chocolate is free of trans fat, because milk fat naturally contains trans fat.
So much for the answer by Storck.
ReplyIn the current (Jan 20th, 2012) version of the Wikipedia-article "trans fat", you read:
"A type of trans fat occurs naturally in the milk and body fat of ruminants (such as cattle and sheep) at a level of 2–5% of total fat."
I love going to the Godiva store in the mall. Now I have even more reason to go.
ReplySorry but i hate dark chocolate i cant enjoy it
ReplyIf you would adjust your sweet tooth, you might. Cut out sugar for a couple weeks and then eat it. I can almost guarantee it will taste totally different. :-)
ReplyIn a recent research, it is been revealed that dark chocolates are good for heart and it helps to make our heart live stronger. It is not bad to eat chocolates.
ReplyThat's good to know, I've been eating dark chocolate for the last decade.
ReplyThis is awesome! I'll have to print and keep this info with me when I'm out and about. Also, I love Lindt chocolates.
ReplyI was sent some sweetriot to try out. This is good stuff! Although the 80% was a tad too bitter for me. I loved the 70% and the 60% with the crunchy nibs was may favorite. It's also great to see a company that's so environmentally conscience. Organic, kosher, fair trade, gluten-free, dairy free, and vegan. They also have real cacao nibs covered in 65% dark chocolate, which sound yummy.
Reply