Is dark chocolate less fattening than milk chocolate?

Yes

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by Tess Ramano

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In our pleasure driven world, the temptations of chocolate are irresistible. Bad days can turn into good nights with a little help from this guilty pleasure. It is no wonder that people want to know:

Is one type of chocolate less fattening than another?

Surprisingly, yes. Dark chocolate has health benefits that milk chocolate does not. Although, the margin of difference is minimal. But what is a big deal breaker for chocolate lovers everywhere is the taste! From person to person, there are different palettes of taste. Some prefer the sweet, while others prefer the bitter. Nonetheless, here's the skinny on why dark chocolate is healthier and a little bit less fattening than the infamous milk chocolate.

There is an immediate difference between the two chocolates: the color. Milk chocolate is a lighter shade because of the more sugary and dairy additives. A larger amount of sugar and milk is added to milk chocolate, while dark chocolate is more of a natural representative of cocoa, because of a smaller amount of sugar added.

Also, cocoa naturally provides antioxidants like polyphenols and catechins. However, "milk chocolate has no antioxidant activity due to milk binding the antioxidants. To take advantage of the antioxidant activity of chocolate you need to have 70% cocoa solids and no milk" (http://www.selfgrow th.com). And we all know how important those antioxidants are in our system for long term health reasons. So sugar and milk means more fat in milk chocolate. Check.

Moving on, a statistical breakdown from the wrappers themselves will help in deciding why, oh why dark chocolate is less fattening. Let's keep it simple. (http://www.hersheys .com/products/detail s/hersheysbar) A milk chocolate candy bar (43 g) has 210 calories and 110 calories from fat. A dark chocolate candy bar (41g) has 180 calories and 110 calories from fat. There's no fat calorie difference, but a slight difference in weight (2 g) and a large difference in calories. Check.

The same milk chocolate bar has 13 grams of fat and 8 grams of saturated fat. Likewise, the dark chocolate bar has a similar ratio of 12 grams of fat with 8 grams of saturated fat. Interesting. Same amount of saturated fat, but difference in fat content. Check.

Now for the cholesterol and sodium count: the milk chocolate bar has 10 mg of cholesterol and 35 mg of sodium, while the dark chocolate bar has less than 5 mg of cholesterol and 15 mg of sodium. Dark chocolate has less cholesterol and sodium. Check.

Only a few things left to compare. Five to be exact. The total carbohydrate count for the milk chocolate bar is 26 grams, while the dark chocolate bar has 25 grams. As for dietary fiber, the milk chocolate has 1 gram and dark chocolate has 3 grams, which in this case more is better. Sugars in the milk chocolate is 24 grams and dark chocolate has 21 grams. Lastly, the protein count is 3 grams for milk chocolate and 2 grams for dark chocolate. Additionally, there is iron in dark chocolate and not in milk chocolate, where there is calcium in milk chocolate and not in dark chocolate. Check, check, check, check, check.

All in all, a lengthy comparison, but informative all the same. Dark chocolate has less fat, less cholesterol, less sodium, and more dietary fiber and iron than milk chocolate. However, milk chocolate possesses a gram more of protein and, of course, some calcium because we know milk is added to milk chocolate and not dark.

So who is to decide which is more fattening? Well, you...depending on the day you've had. But from a health perspective, stick to dark chocolate and a glass of milk instead of milk chocolate and an inkling more of fat. Bitter is better for you.

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