Is White Chocolate Good For You?

Overview

Many of us adore the taste of chocolate. As it melts in our mouths, we get a ‘sugar high’ and our taste buds explode with flavour – it is one of the best feelings, isn’t it? But usually, pleasurable things come with some caveats, and that is the case with white chocolate too. In this article, we will break down the nutrient composition of white chocolate, understand if it carries any benefits or risks, and finally compare it with its potentially healthier alternative – dark chocolate.

Nutrient profile of white chocolate

One 85-gram portion of white chocolate has approximately 50 grams of sugar.¹ That is a very high amount, especially when the American Heart Association recommends that people assigned male at birth (AMAB) should consume no more than 36 grams of added sugar per day, and the amount is even lower for people assigned female at birth (AFAB) at 25 grams.² Therefore, eating white chocolate on a regular basis can put one at risk of becoming overweight and even obese. This, in turn, can put you at risk of several diseases, including diabetes and heart issues. Furthermore, it can also cause dental problems such as tooth decay.  

Another major component in white chocolates is fat, which amounts to 27 grams per portion (85g),¹ of which 17 grams is saturated fat. As you might have assumed, this is quite unhealthy. The NHS recommends that people AMAB should not consume more than 30 grams, while people AFAB should not consume more than 20 grams of saturated fat.³ What happens if we consume too much-saturated fat, you might ask? Well, increased intake of these kinds of fats leads to an increase in ‘bad’ cholesterol (also known as LDL or Low-Density Lipoprotein) increasing an individual’s risk of heart diseases and strokes.⁴

Benefits of white chocolate

However, there is a twist – there is actually one component in white chocolates that might actually be considered relatively healthy. Most adults between the ages of 19-64 need approximately 700 mg of calcium.⁵ In a portion of white chocolate, there is about 169 mg of calcium, which amounts to a solid 24.1% of the recommended daily intake. Maintaining calcium intake is vital not only to ensure healthy bones, but also for effective contractility of muscles and clot formation.⁶

Overconsuming white chocolate

Above we have discussed the ingredients in chocolate that can be very harmful. But what are some immediate effects of overeating white chocolate, or for that matter, any type of chocolate? As Sam Wood, one of Australia’s top health and fitness experts, explains in his article for Body & Soul AU, you will first experience a euphoric feeling and sugar rush, but this will soon be followed by sweating and mood crash, and a general feeling of lethargy. Lastly, you might also feel guilt for binge/overeating.⁷

Is white chocolate healthier than dark chocolate?

Apart from all of this, there is another glaring issue with white chocolate: it does not contain cocoa solids. Cocoa is a rather beneficial ingredient that is found in other types of chocolate, such as dark chocolate, and has the potential to lower blood pressure in addition to acting as an antioxidant. Other significant benefits include possible improvement in brain health and regulation of blood sugar levels.⁸  This clearly shows that dark chocolate is a potentially healthier alternative. 

Summary

In summary, we have seen that white chocolate contains quite a few harmful ingredients such as fat and sugar. In addition, it is very calorie dense. All these factors indicate that consuming them unhealthily can lead to obesity, heart diseases, diabetes, and possibly other secondary diseases. In addition, unlike dark chocolate, they do not have cocoa solids, which have been shown to have quite a few health benefits. They do have a decent amount of calcium, but as you can imagine, it is recommended to get calcium from other sources such as milk and green vegetables. Therefore, with a lackluster nutritional profile, it would be recommended to keep white chocolates at bay or at least minimize their consumption as much as possible.