Although chocolate's sweet, pleasant taste may put a smile on your face, there are some disadvantages associated with eating this rich food. While you can eat any food in moderation, chocolate provides few nutritional benefits and has several nutritional disadvantages that may make it a poor choice for your diet. Nutritional properties may vary between brands, so check product labels when available.
High Calorie Content
Chocolate is calorie-dense. A 1.55-oz. bar of chocolate contains 210 calories. This amount is more than many other snack foods provide. For example, a 1.55-oz. serving of beef jerky provides 124 calories. Consuming too many high-calorie foods can lead to obesity. While you can burn calories through exercise, doing so with chocolate would be time consuming. It would take 57 minutes of weightlifting or 43 minutes of water aerobics to burn 210 calories.
High Saturated Fat Content
Among disadvantages of eating chocolate is it is not only high in total fat, but high in saturated fat. Each 1.55-oz. serving of chocolate contains 8 g of saturated fat, a type of fat that may increase your risk of heart disease. Saturated fat can increase your levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol. To reduce your risk of heart disease, the American Heart Association suggests a daily limit of 16 g or less of saturated fat. Chocolate provides half of this amount in each 1.55-oz. serving.
High Sugar Content
Chocolate has a rich flavor not only because of the fat it contains, but also from high sugar content. Each 1.55-oz. serving, or about one bar, contains 24 g of sugar. Although sugar, as with other carbohydrates, can provide energy, it has several nutritional drawbacks. Sugar can promote tooth decay, and a diet high in sugar may increase your risk of heart disease.
Low in Vitamins and Minerals
Chocolate can have a detrimental effect on your health if you eat it instead of a healthier snack, because of its few beneficial nutrients. Chocolate is not a significant source of vitamins, and provides just 8 percent of the daily-suggested intake of calcium and 2 percent of the daily-suggested intake of iron.
References
- My Fitness Pal: Calories in Hershey's Chocolate Bar Milk Chocolate
- LIVESTRONG.COM MyPlate: Calories in Beef Jerky; Jack Link's
- Mayo Clinic; Exercise for Weight Loss: Calories Burned in 1 Hour; December 2009
- American Heart Association; Know Your Fats; June 2011
- "Los Angeles Times"; Diets High in Added Sugar Raise Heart Disease Risk; Karen Kaplan; April 2010
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