What is dark chocolate?

Dark chocolate contains 50-90% cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar, different from milk chocolate which contains anywhere from 10-50% cocoa solids, cocoa butter, milk in some form, and sugar.

The more cocoa and less sugar dark chocolate has, the more bitter it will taste and a small amount is considered a healthful snack. Dark chocolate product with a higher percentage of cocoa may have a larger amount of the nutrients that deliver its benefits.

These beneficial compounds can include:
*Flavanols
*Polyphenols
*Theobromine

Dark chocolate contains a decent amount of soluble fiber and is loaded with minerals. Nutrients in dark chocolate include 46% carbohydrates, 43% fats, 8% protein, and 1% water.

A 100-gram bar of dark chocolate with 70–85% cocoa contains:
*11 grams of fiber
*66% of the DV for iron
*57% of the DV for magnesium
*196% of the DV for copper
*85% of the DV for manganese

Dark chocolate contains up to 2-3 times more flavanol-rich cocoa solids than milk chocolate. Flavanols have been shown to support the production of nitric oxide (NO) in the endolethium (the inner cell lining of blood vessels) that helps to relax the blood vessels and improve blood flow, thereby lowering blood pressure.

Beneficial effects of dark chocolate on blood pressure might be more significant in older people and those with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, as opposed to younger, healthy individuals.

Consuming dark chocolate with high percentages of cacao, such as 70 percent, may benefit your brain. Eating 48 grams (g) — a little more than 1.5 oz — of 70 percent cacao organic chocolate increased neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new synaptic connections, which could have positive effects on memory, cognition, and mood.

Dark chocolates are classified as bittersweet, semi-sweet, and sweet dark chocolate. The cocoa content of commercial dark chocolate bars can range from 30 percent for sweet dark chocolate to 80 percent (or higher) for extremely dark, bitter bars.

It can be chopped, ground, shaved, or melted and is preferred for ganache, glazes, mousse, and pudding.
What is dark chocolate?

Cocoa butter: Fatty acid content and other nutrients

Cocoa butter is the byproduct of cocoa bean processing industry and is obtained from the mature bean from the Theobroma cacao plant. Cocoa butter is obtained by pressing of mature cocoa beans.

Cocoa butter is a highly valued ingredient primarily used in the confectionery industry. It is responsible for the melting properties of chocolate, consisting predominantly of fatty acids such as palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid, but low amounts of lauric acid and myristic acid.

Palmitic acid, stearic and oleic acid account on average for respectively 26%, 36% and 34% of the total fatty acid composition.

Fatty acid profiles are categorized into saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Palmitic, stearic, lauric and myristic acid are considered saturated fatty acids, oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid while linoleic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid.

It is a pale-yellow liquid with a characteristic odor and the flavor of chocolate. It is an important and the only continuous fat phase found in chocolate, which help in the dispersion of the other ingredients also.

Typically, 100 g of beans produce 40 g of cocoa butter, 40 g of cocoa powder (the residue after extraction which contains 10 – 24% fat) and 20 g of waste material.

Cocoa butter contains a high proportion of saturated fat, derived from starch and palmitic acid and contains trace amounts of caffeine and theobromine. It also contains fat soluble antioxidants such as vitamin E in the form of β-tocopherol, α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol helps in its storage by increasing its therapeutic properties.

Cocoa butter: Fatty acid content and other nutrients

What nutrients are in dark chocolate?

Many studies show that beneficial nutrients can be found in dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is made up of cocoa solids and sugar but no milk solids (prevalent in milk chocolate) and white chocolate, although referred to as chocolate had no cocoa solids, but instead is made of cocoa butter (the fat in chocolate), milk solids and sugar.

One of the nutrients in dark chocolate is called a polyphenol. Polyphenols are apart of a large family of natural compounds found in a wide variety of plant foods. They are helpful in assisting the human body protect itself from free radicals that cause oxidation.

Researchers believe that the benefits of dark chocolate are because of the flavonoids it contains, which are associated with the ability to lower the risk of heart disease and some cancers.

The heart may be vulnerable to damage by oxidation and flavonoids of dark chocolate hold potential for positive heart health effects.

Dark chocolate contains small amounts of B-complex vitamins (thiamin, or B1; riboflavin, or B2; niacin; vitamin B6’ and folate), needed for releasing energy and creating the body’s building blocks. Bone-enhancing vitamin D and antioxidant E are found in dark chocolate, which are important nutrients, too.

According to some studies done in Italy, dark chocolate has many of the same benefits as vitamin C helping the body use insulin more effectively and lower blood pressure. According to the study, participants who enjoyed 100 grams of dark chocolate daily for 15 days had reduced blood pressure and become more sensitive to insulin than they were prior to the "experiment".

Dark chocolate is plentiful in magnesium, important for brain functioning. It also boasts other nutrients, such as copper, iron, manganese and zinc.
What nutrients are in dark chocolate?