No, Dark Chocolate Is Not a Health Food

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? That’s because the answer, according to many physicians is: “yes.”

Just do a simple Google search and you’ll find multiple articles highlighting the health benefits of dark chocolate.

Headlines from media outlets — both obscure and mainstream — expound upon how healthy the delicious treat can be.

But just how much of this “healthy” push is the product of somewhat deceiving campaigns to boost chocolate’s image as something more than an indulgence?

Quite a bit, actually. And while it’s true that there are some health benefits from eating cocoa, dark chocolate isn’t the trendy health food it’s been made out to be.

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reports that dark chocolate contains 50 to 90 percent cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar.

It doesn’t look that great when measured up to its competitors. Those percentages are significantly greater compared to the 10 to 50 percent of cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, and some form of milk that comprise milk chocolate.