A healthy alternative to the ungodly amount of ice cream I eat after dinner every night.
When I was younger, I was at a friend’s house and her mom was making dessert. I saw her using cocoa powder and asked if I could have a spoonful (thinking that it was basically powdered chocolate). Her mom laughed and said “sure thing, just let me get a glass of water ready for you”. I’ll leave the story there and if you are unsure of what happens next, maybe you should go try a spoonful of cocoa powder for yourself!
From then on, I somehow made the notion in my mind that dark chocolate was cocoa powder in solid form and it was disgusting. I can’t tell you how I came to that explanation, but that thought was held in my mind for way too many years. I was a milk chocolate only girl and couldn’t be convinced otherwise (especially when I found out dark chocolate was somewhat healthy for you - I didn’t like foods that were associated with health when I was younger).
Then, one magical day, I discovered dark chocolate for what it was worth. I wish I had this grand story to tell about the exact moment when I discovered how good dark chocolate was. I could make one up, but I’m all about honest journalism; therefore, I regret to inform you, I can’t even remember when I made the transition. All I know now, is that after loving dark chocolate for so many years, I actually can’t really eat milk chocolate when it’s by itself - it’s too sweet!
So when I took to Twitter to find a new topic, I found this guy and I couldn’t agree more (hence my like on his tweet). I'm not sure how unpopular this opinion actually is, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write about one of my favorite foods!
Dark chocolate has so many health benefits for you. It has been proven to balance blood sugar, increase blood supply to the brain, lower stress, it’s a powerful source of antioxidants, and helps improve risks for heart disease. There are definitely more that I didn’t mention & here are a few articles that will help prove I’m not lying:
It’s also really important for me to mention that not all dark chocolate is the same. Dark chocolate contains cacao, which is very good for you. Different dark chocolates have different percentages of cacao, so naturally the higher the proportion of cacao, the better. One article suggested choosing dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao, as a general rule to get the health benefits of dark chocolate.
However, it is also worth mentioning that the higher the percentage of cacao, the less sweet and the more bitter the chocolate is going to be. Shout out to my roommate Taylor for giving me 95% cacao dark chocolate one time when I wasn’t expecting it - I literally had to spit it out. A good dark chocolate in my opinion is anywhere between 60%-80% cacao: if it’s any lower you miss all the health benefits, if it’s higher it’s gonna taste really bitter.
When looking into dark chocolate, also pay attention to sugar content, additives and overall ingredients, types with no added flavors or preservatives, and more. This will help you maximize your health benefit when you’re really craving chocolate - which is a very common craving in my life!
One last piece of advice: remember everything is good in moderation. Even though dark chocolate has a lot of health benefits, too much of it can be harmful to you (just like too much of anything is!).
Dark chocolate is a great way to end a meal in a satisfying and good-for-you way! My favorite kind is Dove dark chocolate. It is 70% cacao and is the perfect mid-day snack or end to a good meal!!
Thanks for reading unpopular opinions. Drop a comment below on your background with dark chocolate, and if you have an unpopular opinion that you feel needs discussed, let me hear it!
As always, a fun fact about dark chocolate: since there are no FDA standards around dark chocolate, fake chocolate is often sold as dark chocolate. This fake chocolate is made from palm oil.
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