These “safe” bars include: Mast's Organic Dark Chocolate 80% Cocoa, Taza Chocolate's Organic Deliciously Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao, Valrhona's Abinao Dark Chocolate 85% Cacao, Ghiradelli's Intense Dark Chocolate 86% Cacao, and Ghiradelli's Intense Dark Chocolate Twilight Delight 72% Cacao.
Chocolate with a higher cocoa percentage also tends to be lower in sugar. Bottom Line: The healthiest dark chocolate contains a cocoa percentage of 70% or higher, which provides more antioxidants and health benefits.
It is also worth noticing that 100% dark chocolate is the healthiest option among all the sugar-free chocolates on the market. To make their products palatable without sugar, many big chocolate manufacturers use alternatives with lower calories but higher sweetening power.
Choose dark chocolates with the lowest levels of heavy metals. CR's tests found five chocolates—one each from Mast, Taza, and Valrhona, and two from Ghirardelli—with relatively low levels of both lead and cadmium. Eight more are lower in only lead, and 10 others in just cadmium.
Studies show it can help reduce blood pressure and lower your risk of heart disease. “Eating chocolate is healthy when it is dark chocolate,” says Poulina Uddin, MD, a cardiologist at Scripps Clinic. “Studies show that eating a small amount of dark chocolate regularly can benefit your health.”
Lindt dark chocolate is the OG of healthy supermarket desserts – high in heart-friendly flavonoids and low in sugar. The higher the percentage of cocoa the less sweet stuff you'll find in the fine print, with the 85% cocoa option only containing 2.2 grams of sugar per serve.
For those chocolate lovers, stick to dark chocolate that is at least 70% cacao to get the most health benefit.
And even though quality dark chocolate is a better choice than milk chocolate, it is still chocolate, meaning it's high in calories and saturated fat. To avoid weight gain, Amidor recommends eating no more than 1 ounce (oz) of dark chocolate per day.
Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa, 166% lead, 80% cadmium. Endangered Species Bold + Silky Dark Chocolate 72% Cocoa, 181% lead, 31% cadmium. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate 72% Cocoa, 192% lead, 36% cadmium. Hu Organic Simple Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa, 210% lead, 56% cadmium.
Lindt dark chocolate is made with high-quality ingredients and contains a high percentage of cocoa solids, which are responsible for the health benefits of dark chocolate. Lindt dark chocolate is also low in sugar and calories, making it a healthy choice for those looking to improve their health.
Amul 99% Cacao Chocolate
This dark chocolate bar by the brand is a vegetarian product and can easily be accommodated into most of the diet plans. This chocolate bar does not contain any added sugar making it a healthy choice for those who do not want to add on any unwanted calories to the body.
Dark chocolate is packed full of important minerals, including iron, magnesium, zinc, copper and phosphorus. In your body, these minerals are used to support factors such as immunity (zinc), can help keep your bones and teeth healthy (phosphorus), and contribute to better sleep quality (magnesium).
Very nutritious
If you buy quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, then it's quite nutritious. It contains a decent amount of soluble fiber and is loaded with minerals. A 100-gram bar of dark chocolate with 70–85% cocoa contains ( 1 ): 11 grams of fiber.
What is the daily recommended amount of dark chocolate? The recommended “dose” is approximately 1 to 2 ounces or 30-60g, experts say. Indulge in anything more than that, and you may be consuming too many calories. A 1.45-ounce (41 gram) Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Bar has 190 calories.
An ounce or two per day is more than enough to get the health benefits of dark chocolate. Eat more than that, and you'll risk the negative effects of weight gain from the fats and calories.
Eating an excessive amount of dark chocolate can increase caffeine intake which can be unsafe for the foetus. Higher caffeine content can cause various issues like premature delivery, low birth weight and even lead to miscarriage. It is better to watch the quantity of your consumption.
Health benefits of 100% dark chocolate include the following: Combats the presence of free radicals, which cause chronic illness and disease. Improves the function of the vascular endothelium (the cells that line the insides of your blood vessels) Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
According to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, dark chocolate has higher caffeine content than both milk chocolate and white chocolate. Consuming large amounts of dark chocolate can lead to an increased heart rate, diarrhea, anxiety, irritability, nervousness, and dehydration.
I have tried many dark chocolates over the past months. Lindt's is by far the best: delicious flavor with a melt in your mouth, creamy body. Really the best dark chocolate bar I have ever tasted.
Choose 70% dark chocolate or higher to obtain the most flavanols. Though keep in mind that the higher the percentage of cocoa solids, the greater the bitter flavor.
However, I did find that Lindt chocolate is made with alkali-processed cocoa. This means that the cocoa beans are treated with an alkali solution, which helps to improve their flavor.