The New Complete Book of Food

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chocolate is made of cocoa butter, sugar, and milk powder. Baking chocolate is unsweetened
dark chocolate. The most prominent nutrient in chocolate is its fat.

Fat Content in One Ounce of Chocolate

Saturated Monounsaturated Polyunsaturated Cholesterol

fat (g) fat (g) fat (g) (mg)

Dark (sweet)

chocolate 5.6 3.2 0.3 0

Milk chocolate 5.9 4.5 0.4 6.6

Baking chocolate 9 5.6 0.3 0

White chocolate 5.5 2.6 0.3 0

Source: USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory. National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.

Available online. UR L: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/.

Because chocolate is made from a bean, it also contains dietary fiber and measurable
amounts of certain minerals. For example, one ounce of dark chocolate, the most nutritious
“eating” chocolate, has 1.6 g dietary fiber, 0.78 mg iron (4 percent of the RDA for a woman,
10 percent of the RDA for a man), 32 mg magnesium (11 percent of the RDA for a woman, 8
percent of the RDA for a man), and .43 mg zinc (5 percent of the RDA for a woman, 4 percent
of the RDA for a man).
Cocoa beans, cocoa, and chocolate contain caffeine, the muscle stimulant theobro-
mine, and the mood-altering chemicals phenylethylalanine and anandamide (see below).

The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food

With low-fat milk to complete the proteins without adding saturated fat and cholesterol.
NOTE: Both cocoa and chocolate contain oxalic acid, which binds with calcium to form cal-
cium oxalate, an insoluble compound, but milk has so much calcium that the small amount
bound to cocoa and chocolate hardly matters. Chocolate skim milk is a source of calcium.

Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food

Antiflatulence diet
Low-calcium and low-oxalate diet (to prevent the formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones)
Low-calorie diet
Low-carbohydrate diet
Low-fat diet
Low-fat, controlled-cholesterol diet (milk chocolates)
Low-fiber diet
Potassium-regulated (low-potassium) diet

Chocolate