It can be difficult to balance your diet without spending a lot of money.
In this series, we try to find the most affordable and healthiest options in the supermarket. We also received assistance from the following people: sunna van kampenfounder of Tonic Health, has gone viral on social media for reviewing foods for healthier options.
Rather than trying to find perfectly healthy options, this series will help you get better nutritional value for as little money as possible.
Today we’ll be looking at chocolate. In Sunna’s view, this explains why chocolate is a superfood before sugar or dairy is added.
Superfoods are foods that have a very high “nutrient density,” meaning they contain many nutrients with few calories.
Superfoods require high concentrations of antioxidants, molecules that neutralize unstable molecules that can harm cells.
While you can get antioxidants by buying expensive “vegetable” powders, Sunna says many products you can buy in supermarkets can be classified as “superfoods.”
“Chocolate isn’t unhealthy; it’s actually a superfood. It’s the sugar we add that’s the problem,” he says.
“Supermarket chocolate is often sold for just £27.50 per kg, which is almost half the price of the cheapest green powder.”
Sunna points out that cacao, the raw material for chocolate, is a superfood in its own right, containing more antioxidants than blueberries, acai berries, and cranberries.
“In fact, cacao contains more than 40 times more antioxidants than raw blueberries,” he says.
But, as he says, added sugar causes problems.
Sunnah Chocolate Buying Guide
Sunna recommends choosing chocolate with a high content of cocoa solids, which lowers the sugar content.
Here’s what it looks like when you line up the different types of chocolate:
- milk – 25% cocoa solids, 54g sugar per 100g.
- dark – 47% cocoa solids, 49g sugar per 100g.
- 70% dark – 70% cocoa solids, 29g sugar per 100g
- 85% dark – 85% cocoa solids, 15g sugar per 100g
- 90% dark – 90% cocoa solids, 7g sugar per 100g
“Typical milk chocolate only contains 25% cocoa solids, and the first two ingredients are actually milk and sugar,” Sunna says.
“For chocolate to be a superfood, it has to be dark chocolate, ideally at least 70% dark chocolate.”
If you eat a few pieces every night after dinner, you’ll be consuming 200g of superfood chocolate a week for £5.50.
“If you’re a fan of milk chocolate, don’t worry,” says Sunna. “You can retrain your taste buds and reap over 70% of the benefits of superfoods in just 10 days.”
It may sound easier said than done, but Sunna says the trick is to start with a low percentage and gradually work your way up to a higher percentage.
“Once you’ve reached a point where you’re happy, try eating one bar of chocolate every night for 10 days in a row,” he says.
“The more you train your taste buds, the less sugar you will consume.”
Switching from milk chocolate to 70% dark chocolate will save you 2.6kg of sugar per year, increasing to 90% will save you over 4.8kg of sugar per year (assuming you consume 200g per week).
“Small changes in chocolate and a little work to train your taste buds can lead to big sugar savings. It’s not just the sugar reduction that’s worth it, but the antioxidant increase, too.” Sunnah he concludes.
Read more in this series…
