by Rachel Simpson

Created on: October 31, 2008   Last Updated: December 07, 2011

In a country where people are very calorie conscious, chocolate is still a guilty pleasure for many people. In addition to its pleasurably sinful taste, studies show that it releases endorphins, which make us "feel good". Although some of us love indulging in chocolate and have been using health claims to rationalize chocolate binges, chocolate lovers are now wondering if one chocolate is any less fattening than another. As much as many around the world seem to adore milk chocolate, it seems as if dark chocolate is climbing in the ranks for its health benefits. This leads us to the ultimate question: is dark chocolate less fattening than milk chocolate?

In recent years, there have been various studies performed on the health benefits of chocolate, much to the delight of chocolate lovers everywhere. To find out if one is more fattening, we must see how both are made. First, we start with a cacao bean. All of the beans go through a uniform process of sun-drying, cleaning, roasting and winnowing. The inner part of the bean is crushed and heated to make a cocoa butter that will be ground into a paste. This is considered chocolate liquor although it doesn't contain alcohol (thinkquest.com, "How Chocolate Is Made"). At this point, the ingredients to make milk or dark chocolate are added. The milk chocolate will be made with cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids or powder. Sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla are combined with the chocolate liquor to make it dark.

Upon comparison of two nutritional facts charts (one from chocolatenecessities.com and one from cacaoweb.net), there was a higher fat content in milk chocolate than dark, which is due to the addition of milk solids. However, it wasn't a difference significant enough for people that prefer milk chocolate to swear off it. In fact, it was a very marginal difference of about 7 calories. The only time you will see a large difference between the fat contents of dark and milk chocolate is if you eat, say 10 oz all at once. Then you'll start seeing a difference of over 50 calories.

The verdict is that even though dark chocolate is the healthier chocolate choice because of its higher content of cacao, both are fattening if eaten in excess. Enjoy and indulge yourself in both because one is no more likely than another to increase your waistline if eaten in moderation.

1. "How Chocolate Is Made". Chocolate. 30 October 2008. http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110012/made/made.htm .

2. "Nutritional Information", Chocolate Necessities. 2001-2008.
30 October 2008. http://www.chocolatenecessities.com/nutritional_info rmation.php .

3. "Nutrition Facts". Cacao Web Chocolate & Cocoa. 2003-2008. http://www.cacaoweb.net/nutrition.html .

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