Polyphenols are the compounds in chocolate said to have massive benefits on our health, ranging from increased athletic performance to healthier vascular function to better cognitive performance. Chocolate is actually one of the top dietary sources of polyphenols (R), but Dutch processing directly degrades the polyphenol content of chocolate. (R)
The ingredients list will usually say whether the cocoa has been processed with alkali. Above is an image I found online of two seemingly identical packages of cocoa, yet one has been processed with alkali and one has not. Always go for the one that hasn’t been processed by alkali.
3. Opt for 85% cocoa content or higher.
Dark chocolate contains cocoa content ranging from 70% to 99%. The higher the cocoa content, the less sugar will be in the bar. This is better for your health, but also for your willpower. You might find that when you stick with a bar that contains 85% or higher cocoa, you can “safely” consume a few bites and feel satiated without feeling like you need to consume the whole bar in one sitting. But why is this so?
Below 85% and chocolate tends to veer into a territory known as “hyperpalatability,” a term used by food scientists to describe food that is “impossibly delicious.” Only processed foods take on this quality, which is usually engineered to drive insatiable consumption on par with drugs of abuse. A food that is hyperpalatable usually includes a pleasing mouth texture, salt, sugar, and fat. Ring a bell? Chocolate!
Chocolate below 85% has all of the qualities that make a food “hyperpalatable”—avoid these to gain more benefits in less calories, and you’ll be doing your willpower a favor in the process.
