Healthy chocolate market growing but nutritionists warn of excess sugar and caffeine

Once considered a treat food, chocolate is now taking on superfood giants such as kale, quinoa and celery juice as a key part of a healthy diet, but doctors warn not all brands are good for you.

Chocolate is taking on superfood giants such as kale, quinoa and celery juice as a key part of a healthy diet.

The healthy chocolate market is growing but health experts have warned not all chocolate brands are equal.

Integrative GP Dr Fiona Enkelman also said some people couldn’t tolerate the caffeine in high levels of cocoa.

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“Some people can overdo good things and we need to be conscious of that,” Dr Enkelman said.

“Some people can have a caffeine sensitivity and I don’t recommend high-cocoa chocolate to people suffering anxiety or insomnia.

Rachael Fraser taste-tests Pumpy Jackson ‘healthy’ chocolate. Picture: Tony Gough

“Still, there are a lot of antioxidants in cocoa, which makes a couple of pieces of some good-quality dark chocolate with a high dose of organic cocoa (at least 70 per cent) for people who can tolerate it, a benefit.

“The main pitfalls are the additional things like sugar or stevia, which is a herb but I’ve seen it having side effects in some of my patients.”

Some brands include coconut sugar, which Dr Enkelman said was still sugar despite being preferable to cane sugar.

She said monk fruit might be a better sweetener because it was a plant and had no calories and no impact on blood sugar, but did not cause the same digestive issues as stevia.

A Coles spokesman said the market for “healthy” chocolate had grown in recent years, and it now offered several options.

GPs have warned some people can’t tolerate the caffeine in high levels of cocoa.

“Coles has seen an increased interest in alternatives to traditional milk chocolate. This includes the growing popularity of dark chocolate and chocolate with no added sugar,” the spokesman said.

Accredited practising dietitian and nutritionist Marika Day agreed there were health benefits to high-cocoa chocolate that made it a worthy treat but said labels were important.

“Some still have refined sugar even though they have high levels of cocoa, or others will have been replaced with artificial sweetener but may have higher levels of fat,” Ms Day said. “Even though the fat may be coconut oil, you could still be consuming a lot of calories, so these chocolates shouldn’t be consumed in high quantities.”

Dr Enkelman said while nothing beat a diet rich in vegetables, how we related to our food was important and treats were part of that.

“I believe in diversity and pleasure in food,” she said.

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