Dark Chocolate is Good for You

How much is OK to eat? Should you go sugar-free?

If you have diabetes and love chocolate, listen up: Dark chocolate may offer some health benefits—as long as you don’t overdo it. The dark part of the cacao bean contains powerful plant antioxidants called flavonoids - they protect cells and promote heart health by lowering blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol.

“If you exercise regularly and eat a high-fiber, low-fat diet, you could eat a little dark chocolate every day,” says registered dietitian Janet Zusi of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “You just need to count the chocolate among your carbohydrates. But if your diet contains lots of low-fiber carbs and fat, or if you’re trying to lose weight, a piece of fruit might make a better choice.”

How much chocolate is OK? “No more than one ounce of dark chocolate a day,” Zusi says. “That contains 150 calories from fat and sugar and 15 grams of carbs. If you’re not sure whether you can safely add chocolate to your diet, talk to your dietitian.”

What if you eat sugar-free chocolate? “You don’t have the green light to eat them in unlimited quantities,” Zusi says. “Sugar-free candy still contains carbohydrates, and may contain even more fat and calories than the regular version.”

What’s more, sugar-free treats often contain sugar alcohols, which do contain carbs, half of which count toward your daily total. For example, if a label says one serving of a treat contains 28 grams of sugar alcohols, you need to count 14 grams of carbs toward your daily total. "But carbs aren’t the only downside of these sugar alcohols," Zusi says. “They can cause gassiness and diarrhea, so you shouldn’t eat much of them anyway.”

So, should you choose sugar-free or low-carb chocolate, or splurge for its full-carb counterpart? “If you want to reap the health benefits of chocolate, you still need to choose a dark or semisweet variety with at least 70 percent cocoa content, whether the chocolate is sugar-free or low-carb,” says Zusi. “But if you’re just looking for something sweet to eat, the real stuff is fine, as long as it fits into your carb budget and you keep your portion small.”

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