Sugar & Other Sweeteners
The next important topic to discuss in terms of healthy chocolate is sugar and other sweeteners. I talk elsewhere about the health benefits of cacao, and since chocolate is made from it, this is why chocolate has so many health benefits as well. However, the more processed the cacao is, the more we're getting away from its initial, nutritional state.
So makers of dark chocolate are touting all the health benefits because of the cacao, but then they go and add something that's diametrically opposed to good health: refined sugar. (Or corn syrup, or other artificial sweeteners. Actually, when artificial sweeteners are added, the FDA no longer considers the product true chocolate.)
Now granted, I prefer sugar to anything artificial. I won't write an article on artificial sweeteners here, but I basically think they're evil. The list of negative side effects numbers just about as long as parts of the body.
But sugar's list of side effects is nearly as long. When you include refined sugar in chocolate, the health benefits may outweigh the problems of sugar, but the problems are still there. If you want to learn more, check out this piece by 60 Minutes.
Even in healthy chocolate, most will have up to 25% sugar, so the kind of sugar used matters! (The darker the chocolate, the less sweetener is used. But a 70% dark chocolate will have around 25% sugar or other sweetener.)
To really get the health benefits of cacao and NOT dampen them with refined sugar or artificial sweeteners, I believe it's important to use sweeteners like sugar alcohols (xylitol, erythritol, etc.), stevia (a sweet leaf), agave nectar (from cactus), or even unrefined (and lower-glycemic) sugars like raw cane juice.
XYLITOL
Xylitol not only sweetens food, but it may provide many health benefits. As health writer Natalie Aranda puts it:
"Research conducted in more than 40 countries around the world has shown that Xylitol contributes to weight loss, increased bone density, hormonal imbalance restoring, and blood sugar stabilization for diabetic patients, lowering their insulin levels."
It is also widely noted for its oral health benefits, as xylitol has an anti-bacterial quality that can kill the bacteria on teeth (and presumably elsewhere in the body), and it lowers the body's acid levels, while refined sugar raises acid in the body.
Having said that, there's distinct opposition to its use as well. Some believe we shouldn't even call it "natural," as it's processed with man-made chemicals.
Regardless of your position, many companies avoid xylitol because it has a unique flavor that most people need to get used to. It certainly puts a different spin on chocolate. Also, some people have digestive issues when eating sugar alcohols -- a warning that xylitol typically shows on its packaging.
AGAVE NECTAR
One of my favorite raw chocolates -- Gnosis Chocolate -- is sweetened with agave nectar, which is low on the glycemic index. I understand there is a lot of controversy around this because of an article written by Dr. Mercola. But even Mercola notes that there's a difference between raw, organic agave and that which is highly processed.
If it's raw, then it's similar to eating some fruit (without the fiber), which I believe is different than eating refined sugar. A whole bar of Gnosis Chocolate only contains somewhere around 10 grams of fructose (I don't know the exact amount); Mercola says that 25 grams is the metabolic danger zone. Most people I know don't eat a whole bar of Gnosis at one sitting, and might get more like 2-3 grams of fructose per serving.
For more on this topic, you might like to read the agave report written by Vanessa of Gnosis Chocolate. After Mercola's article came out and stirred up so much controversy, she went down to her Mexican source for raw, organic agave and observed the entire process, learning how different this is from the processing of high fructose corn syrup for instance.
Obviously there will be ongoing debates about this, as with anything. But I think it's clear that we're talking about something different, here, than what Mercola took issue with.
TYPES OF SUGAR
We should note that even something like agave nectar is sweet because it's a form of sugar. But some items, like raw cane juice, are often listed as sugar because we think of cane sugar as "sugar." Like the others, it is. But like the others, its health impact depends on whether it's refined or simply pressed (removing the fiber) to produce a raw sweetener. This kind is better for you than refined sugar and has about 1/3 the glycemic load.
By now, if you've read through all "The Facts" pages in order, you've covered most of what you need to know when picking out a healthy chocolate. But there are still a couple useful things you can look into, and one of them is how chocolate is made -- knowing this will help you to understand the quality of chocolate you're getting. So let's take a look at the parts of chocolate.
So makers of dark chocolate are touting all the health benefits because of the cacao, but then they go and add something that's diametrically opposed to good health: refined sugar. (Or corn syrup, or other artificial sweeteners. Actually, when artificial sweeteners are added, the FDA no longer considers the product true chocolate.)
Now granted, I prefer sugar to anything artificial. I won't write an article on artificial sweeteners here, but I basically think they're evil. The list of negative side effects numbers just about as long as parts of the body.
But sugar's list of side effects is nearly as long. When you include refined sugar in chocolate, the health benefits may outweigh the problems of sugar, but the problems are still there. If you want to learn more, check out this piece by 60 Minutes.
Even in healthy chocolate, most will have up to 25% sugar, so the kind of sugar used matters! (The darker the chocolate, the less sweetener is used. But a 70% dark chocolate will have around 25% sugar or other sweetener.)
To really get the health benefits of cacao and NOT dampen them with refined sugar or artificial sweeteners, I believe it's important to use sweeteners like sugar alcohols (xylitol, erythritol, etc.), stevia (a sweet leaf), agave nectar (from cactus), or even unrefined (and lower-glycemic) sugars like raw cane juice.
XYLITOL
Xylitol not only sweetens food, but it may provide many health benefits. As health writer Natalie Aranda puts it:
"Research conducted in more than 40 countries around the world has shown that Xylitol contributes to weight loss, increased bone density, hormonal imbalance restoring, and blood sugar stabilization for diabetic patients, lowering their insulin levels."
It is also widely noted for its oral health benefits, as xylitol has an anti-bacterial quality that can kill the bacteria on teeth (and presumably elsewhere in the body), and it lowers the body's acid levels, while refined sugar raises acid in the body.
Having said that, there's distinct opposition to its use as well. Some believe we shouldn't even call it "natural," as it's processed with man-made chemicals.
Regardless of your position, many companies avoid xylitol because it has a unique flavor that most people need to get used to. It certainly puts a different spin on chocolate. Also, some people have digestive issues when eating sugar alcohols -- a warning that xylitol typically shows on its packaging.
AGAVE NECTAR
One of my favorite raw chocolates -- Gnosis Chocolate -- is sweetened with agave nectar, which is low on the glycemic index. I understand there is a lot of controversy around this because of an article written by Dr. Mercola. But even Mercola notes that there's a difference between raw, organic agave and that which is highly processed.
If it's raw, then it's similar to eating some fruit (without the fiber), which I believe is different than eating refined sugar. A whole bar of Gnosis Chocolate only contains somewhere around 10 grams of fructose (I don't know the exact amount); Mercola says that 25 grams is the metabolic danger zone. Most people I know don't eat a whole bar of Gnosis at one sitting, and might get more like 2-3 grams of fructose per serving.
For more on this topic, you might like to read the agave report written by Vanessa of Gnosis Chocolate. After Mercola's article came out and stirred up so much controversy, she went down to her Mexican source for raw, organic agave and observed the entire process, learning how different this is from the processing of high fructose corn syrup for instance.
Obviously there will be ongoing debates about this, as with anything. But I think it's clear that we're talking about something different, here, than what Mercola took issue with.
TYPES OF SUGAR
We should note that even something like agave nectar is sweet because it's a form of sugar. But some items, like raw cane juice, are often listed as sugar because we think of cane sugar as "sugar." Like the others, it is. But like the others, its health impact depends on whether it's refined or simply pressed (removing the fiber) to produce a raw sweetener. This kind is better for you than refined sugar and has about 1/3 the glycemic load.
By now, if you've read through all "The Facts" pages in order, you've covered most of what you need to know when picking out a healthy chocolate. But there are still a couple useful things you can look into, and one of them is how chocolate is made -- knowing this will help you to understand the quality of chocolate you're getting. So let's take a look at the parts of chocolate.
