Chocolate how many calories

Avoid refrigeration, as this can cause the chocolate to harden and will affect its taste. While a piece of a dark chocolate bar is perfect for a quick snack, this is not the ideal type of chocolate for cooking. It comes in unsweetened, sweetened, and semisweet varieties.

Unsweetened versions are likely to have the most cocoa content. Additional reporting by Laura McArdle. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Health Topics. Health Tools. Reviewed: October 26, Medically Reviewed. Defining Chocolate and Understanding Its History While the world of the manufactured candies you see around Halloween and Easter may seem relatively new, chocolate itself is said to be about 4, years old, per History.

Made from cacao beans, chocolate is originally from Central America, where Theobroma cacao trees thrived in the tropical climate.

Centuries later, Spanish colonizers learned of the prized crop and took it back with them to Europe. The treat eventually made the rounds in Spain, France, and then Britain. It even gained a reputation for being healthy, thanks to studies of indigenous people who consumed chocolate and were found to have lower incidences of cardiovascular disease , notes the National Institutes of Health NIH.

Still, the chocolate of centuries past was nothing like the sugary treats you may find at the store today.

The ancient civilizations of Central America were said to have used cacao beans to make a chocolate drink using a combination of water, honey , and spices. Chocolate consumption spiked at the turn of the 20th century. All chocolate comes from cacao beans from the Theobroma cacao tree. Chocolate makers harvest pods from the trees, scoop the beans out of the pods, and then ferment and dry those beans.

Next, they roast and grind the beans. To create chocolate bars, makers convert this resulting substance into a liquor nope, not alcohol then sweeten it, grind it again, and pour it into their desired mold to solidify, according to the Princeton Institute for Chocolate Studies.

Cocoa powder is the result of ground cacao beans. Regular chocolate — what is often called milk chocolate — is made with a combination of cocoa liquor, powdered milk, and sugar. The average milk chocolate sold in the United States has at least 10 percent cocoa content.

Dark chocolate consists of some of the same ingredients but in different amounts. Milk powder is not used to make dark chocolate. Most dark chocolate has a cocoa content between 35 and 85 percent.

The higher the percentage of cocoa, the stronger the taste. Some people find the darkest of chocolate to have a bitter taste, while others appreciate its lower sugar content.

According to the U. Department of Agriculture USDA , a 1-ounce oz serving of white chocolate has calories and 9 grams g of fat. It also has 17 g of carbohydrates , all of which are from sugar, and 56 milligrams mg of calcium. The USDA estimates that 1 oz of milk chocolate contains calories and 8 g of fat. The same serving also has 17 g of carbs. Due to its milk content, milk chocolate has slightly more calcium 54 mg than dark chocolate though neither is a significant source of this nutrient , and milk chocolate contains 0.

Dark chocolate is touted as the healthiest of the chocolates — the U. Chocolate is not just versatile, it is also available in so many shapes, sizes, flavours, and variants that everyone can pick and choose which one they like the most.

However, too much chocolate has often been associated with weight gain, which has its own set of health complications.

Children are also often advised to not eat too much chocolate as it can cause cavities in teeth. People and experts are often heard saying that one must eat dark chocolate, if they eat chocolate at all. In fact, dark chocolate is often recommended as a remedy for certain health conditions, such as period cramps or mood disorders. Here is the difference between milk and dark chocolate to settle the debate about which one and how much should you eat, once and for all.

Calorie count: gm of milk chocolate has about calories, while dark chocolate of the same amount has around calories. However, the calories of dark chocolate come with various nutrients as well. It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium.

On the other hand, milk chocolate is mostly milk flavoured with chocolate and sugar. Therefore, while it may contain some nutrients, they are likely to be lesser than the nutrient content in dark chocolate. Sugar: Dark chocolate contains way less sugar than milk chocolate. Sugar consumption, in excess, can lead to weight gain and risk of obesity, which can considerably spike your risk of other diseases and disorders. Mini Marshmallow Chocolate Brownies. Receive the latest on what works for weight loss straight to your inbox.

We won't share your email address. Privacy policy. Calories in Chocolate and Sweets. Calorie Counting for Weight Loss? Need to Lose Weight? Imperial Metric Height m Weight kg.