Tips for Choosing Healthy Chocolate Bars
Chocolates can be good at times and it can be bad as well, depending on the type of chocolate we are consuming. To keep us away from junk foods and unnecessary snacks, it is often asked to have a healthy chocolate bar.
Because a healthy chocolate bar is not just good in taste but it also has good nutritional value. But are all the healthy chocolate bars available in the market are really healthy? Can you have any healthy chocolate bar without any doubt on it of consuming an unhealthy chocolate bar? No, we cannot trust any chocolate bar saying that it is a healthy snack or it is an alternative for the other healthy foods. We need to find out whether the chocolate bar we are consuming is healthy or not. health nutritionals
We are sharing a few tips here, with you all, so that the next time you want to pick up a healthy bar, you can choose the right one. When you read a label of the chocolate bar saying that it is a healthy chocolate bar, do not just go with that, check its complete labeling to know if it is really healthy or not. Now, let’s see what all we need to check on its label.
Less of sugar
In the ingredients section on the label, you will find the amount of sugar they have added in the chocolate bar. The sugar content in the chocolate bar should be really low if it is a healthy chocolate bar. Because the sugar present in the chocolate bar affects the bitterness of the cacao present in the chocolate.
Also, sugar being one of the lowest amounts of ingredient present in the healthy chocolate bar should be mentioned at the end of the ingredients list.
Cacao Content in the chocolate bar
In most of the healthy chocolate bars, you will notice that the cacao content present in it are very high. Even you will see that they have mentioned the percentage of cacao content on the front side of the label also apart from the ingredients section.
In the ingredient list, the cacao will be the first ingredient because it is highest in the amount in the healthy chocolate bar. You will find around 60 percent to 70 percent of cacao content present in the chocolate bar.
This is one of the reasons why even doctors recommend dark chocolates as they do have high cacao content present in them. This may make the chocolate bitter, but it is really good for health. Always choose a healthy chocolate bar, if it has 60 or more than 60 percent of cacao.
Avoid the chocolate bar with trans-fat or unhealthy fat
Generally, the unhealthy fat or trans-fat is added to these chocolate bars for increasing their shelf life. Addition of trans-fat also makes it smooth chocolate. But consuming trans-fat can lead to heart-related problems.
And that is why a chocolate bar having trans-fat is not considered to be a healthy snack. You can check its label and if it is mentioned there that it contains hydrogenated oil even partially also, never choose it.
Do check the additives in the chocolate bar
To add the flavouring, some natural or some artificial products are added in the chocolate bar. Sometimes these additives can affect the nutritional value of the cacao. So, we always advice one to have a healthy chocolate bar which is an organic chocolate bar.
No processing with alkali or Dutch Processing
A healthy chocolate bar does consist of flavanols also. But if the chocolate says that it has been processed using the Dutch Processing which means that it has been processed with Alkali, avoid taking it. Generally, the Dutch Processing is done to make the color of the chocolate lighter and to reduce a little bit of bitterness of the chocolate. This also affects the healthy flavanols present in the chocolate and reduces the health benefits of the chocolate.
Ingredients present at the top in the list
We have already mentioned above that sugar should be in the last. If you find sugar at the top, leave the chocolate bar at the shelf only. Some ingredients which you can look for in the top are cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and cocoa liquor. These ingredients at the top show that the chocolate bar has more of cacao content.