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Nutrition

Although many do not think of nutrition right away when they think about chocolate, the truth of the matter is that chocolate contains a very complex and intricate nutrition profile. The nutrition of chocolate lies within each of its primary indredients: cocoa, cocoa butter and milk (for milk chocolate).

COCOA: The cocoa bean is at the heart of every chocolate product that is made. Interestingly, the cocoa bean is not a “bean” or any type of legume, rather it is actually the seed of the fruit of the cocoa tree. Cocoa beans are about 54% fat, 31% carbohydrate, 11% protein, 3% polyphenols, and less than 1% minerals.

After a cocoa bean has been fermented, roasted and ground, it is then pressed into cocoa powder and cocoa butter. This cocoa powder is the same as the cocoa powder that you have baked with throughout the years. The cocoa powder is a concentrated source of polyphenols, specifically the flavan-3-ols, and minerals, including iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and copper. The fiber present within the cocoa bean also lies within the cocoa powder portion, providing 2g of dietary fiber for every 5g (1 Tbsp) of cocoa powder. The cocoa powder also contains a small amount of protein predominately made up of the amino acids including arginine, glutamine and leucine.

COCOA BUTTER: The naturally occurring fat within the cocoa bean is referred to as cocoa butter. The three primary fats that make up cocoa butter are oleic acid (C18:1), stearic acid (C18:0), and palmitic acid (C16:0). In general about 37.5% of the fat within cocoa butter is unsaturated fat and about 61.4% is saturated fat.

The triglyceride composition of the fat in cocoa butter is primarily in the configuration of saturated fat(sn1)-unsaturated fat (sn-2)-saturated fat (sn-3), with oleic acid being the primary fatty acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride. This is of importance because this is the fatty acid that is most readily absorbed by the body, compared to the other fatty acids located in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions.

One unique feature of the saturated fat found within cocoa butter is the fact that about half of this saturated fat is stearic acid, a fatty acid that is classified as a saturated fat, but does not increase blood levels of LDL-cholesterol. 

MILK: Although many of the health benefits surrounding chocolate are focused on dark chocolate with its concentrated amount of flavanol antioxidants, there are some additional healthy nutrients inherent to the milk used in the production of milk chocolate. The milk in milk chocolate contains calcium, potassium and magnesium, all important nutrients for building strong bones and teeth and for cardiovascular health. Milk is also a good source high quality protein.