Does the War on Sugar Apply to Chocolate?

Sugar may be delicious, but we all know that too much of it is a bad thing. But how much is too much? Does all chocolate have too much? If some chocolates are better, which chocolates? And does trying to be healthy mean cutting out sugar altogether?

These are important questions for any chocolate lover, and it can be hard to find a straight answer.

To answer whether the war on sugar applies to chocolate, you must first know what the war on sugar actually entails. The war on sugar refers to the movement among some nutritionists, dieticians, and doctors to substantially lower or even remove processed sugars from our diet. High sugar consumption has been linked to many different health problems, the two most common ones being obesity and diabetes.

Obesity is rising in Australia as diets become richer and our daily lives become less active. While you don’t need to be thin to be healthy and happy, bad eating habits and lifestyles can cause big problems. Heart disease, blood pressure, and stroke risks have all been linked with the rise of obesity, and one of the key causes of obesity is the abundance of sugar in our diets.

When we don’t burn off the energy we get from our food, our bodies store it as fat. The large amounts of sugar added to many modern foods and drink items makes it nearly impossible to successfully burn off the average daily intake without serious exercise.

Type 2 diabetes happens when the body slowly loses its ability to produce insulin, a hormone that allows your body to process the glucose from edible sugars. While the causes of Type 2 diabetes are still unclear, it has been linked with high sugar consumption.

In addition, as the body cannot process sugar without intervention, high sugar diets are very dangerous for people with any type of diabetes, especially if they have not been diagnosed and are unaware of their condition.

The war on sugar aims to limit sugar in several ways. First, by altering the availability of sugar-rich items in public vending machines, particularly those in schools and health facilities. Second, by adding a tax on sugar-rich items to lower both the amount of sugar manufacturers can use and reduce individual purchases.

Finally, by increasing public knowledge of sugar-rich foods and their risks in a range of programs, from school health education to mandatory labels.

So, how much of this applies to chocolate? Many factory-manufactured chocolates are highly processed, with added sugars and low amounts of any health-benefiting flavonoids.

However, dark chocolates and high-quality artisanal chocolates are much healthier, and some are completely sugar-free. In fact, it has been shown that a moderate amount of dark chocolate in your diet can help improve heart health, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of stroke: all of which are the major concerns that health professionals have with obesity.

A grocery store candy bar certainly might not be very healthy, but many other chocolate products are perfectly fine to have, even with the war on sugar.

Check the ingredients on the label or manufacturer's website of any chocolate product to compare how healthy it is against other brands.

The war on sugar is an on-going attempt to make healthy food options more available, and the negative consequences of sugar-rich foods more visible. Many varieties of chocolate are quite sugar-rich, but there are many options that are low-sugar or sugar-free.

And like anything else, as long as they are consumed in moderation, there’s no reason to give up on chocolate just yet.