Chocolate Diet

One of the most important characteristics of a diet is the respect of individual preferences regarding the taste and palatability of foods.

Chocolate is one of those pleasures that we reluctantly give up when starting a new diet.

In reality, as we will see in this article, using a little common sense, it is possible to consume this food easily, reconciling it with the other foods included in the weekly diet plan.

Chocolate Benefits

The numerous compounds identified in cocoa, although differing in their chemical structure and biological activity, give this food important characteristics.

Cardiovascular diseases

Prestigious research, such as the one commissioned in 2003 by the National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition (Inran), underlines the cardioprotective properties of dark chocolate .

These characteristics are linked to the precious content of antioxidants (polyphenols). These substances, in addition to slowing down the aging process, would even have the advantage of lowering cholesterol and blood pressure levels. However, all these healthy effects are the prerogative of dark chocolate since milk does not seem to have any beneficial effect in this regard.

Chocolate and good mood

The psychoactive effect, typical of any type of chocolate, is instead linked to the presence of small traces of alkaloids (caffeine, theobromine, phenylethylamine) and serotonin (an important brain neurotransmitter).

All these substances together with improving mood and attention would be able to give a certain dependency. The so-called chocolate (inability to renounce this food as if it were a drug) risks in many cases to make the dietary plan foreseen by the diet fail miserably.

Additional Properties

Chocolate also has a fair fiber content, vitamins (tocopherols and vit. PP) and minerals (magnesium). Many people also attribute a powerful aphrodisiac power to cocoa.

Negative aspects of chocolate

Among the numerous nutritional properties of chocolate there is also a large defect linked to excessive caloric power.

	DARK CHOCOLATE	MILK CHOCOLATE
CARBS	54	48.4
PROTEIN	5.8	8.9
FATS	34	37.6
WATER	1.1	1.7
CHOLESTEROL	0	16
SODIUM	11	120
FIBER	8.0	8.0
CALORIES	545	568

As shown in the table, 100 grams of chocolate contain on average about 550 calories, which for a sedentary lady represent almost half of the daily energy requirement (just under 40%, see: calorie calculation).

Undoubtedly this is a very limited aspect, especially for a person who does not perform regular physical activity and who for this reason needs few calories.

Which Chocolate?

On the market there are many types of chocolate, dark, milk, spreadable, white, with or without dried fruit etc.

From the nutritional point of view we can say that the noble part of chocolate is given by cocoa and cocoa butter, while simple sugars and tropical oils (palm and palm kernel) represent the undesired components.

As far as spreadable creams are concerned, the percentage of hazelnuts can also be considered a nutritional quality factor.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION FOR 100g
	Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa, Extra-Fondant Tablet	Nutella, Chocolate spread
Power	2483kJ / 592kcal	2273kJ / 544kcal
Grassi	55g	31, 6g
- of which saturated fatty acids	30g	10, 9g
Carbohydrates	14g	57, 3g
- of which sugars	7.0 g	56, 7g
Protein	10g	6g
Ingredients	Cocoa paste, cocoa butter, low-fat cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla.	Sugar (or sucrose), palm oil, hazelnuts (13%), low-fat cocoa (7.4%), skimmed milk powder (6.6%), whey powder, emulsifiers (soy lecithin) and vanillin .

From the values shown in the table the nutritional abyss between the two foods is evident:

on average, commercial chocolate spreads (see nutella) are foods with a high index and glycemic load (because they are very rich in sugars), with high percentages of saturated fats with a long chain from palm oil.
Often milk derivatives are also present and their particularly sweet and inviting taste often leads to consuming them in excess. These poor quality products embody all the negative nutritional aspects of chocolate
in the extra-dark chocolate bars with high percentages of cocoa (70% and above), the content of simple sugars is much lower and normally there are no tropical oils.
Saturated fatty acids, although particularly abundant, are on average less atherogenic (lower percentages of palmitic acid and higher than stearic acid).
Furthermore, the bitter taste tends to limit its consumption portions.

Due to these positive characteristics, dark chocolate does not cause tooth decay (but prevents it), it is not involved in the appearance of pimples and acne, and it guarantees a considerable intake of flavonoid antioxidants.

Diet and chocolate

We report, for purely indicative purposes, the scheme of a possible diet for chocolate lovers from 1400-1600 calories per day.

Diet Day 1

Breakfast: a hot chocolate with 6 ground almonds and two teaspoons of sugar + 3 biscuits (40 g)
Snack: natural yoghurt p. skimmed
Lunch: pasta 80 grams + legumes (150 g) + 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Snack: chocolate taste protein bar 50 g
Dinner: 1 tablespoon of olive oil + vegetables to taste + 150 g of chicken breast

Diet Day 2

Breakfast: milk p. skimmed (400ml), whole grains rich in cocoa-flavored fiber (50g)
Snack: a kiwi + 3 walnuts
Lunch: pasta 80 grams + salmon 100 g + 1 tablespoon of olive oil + tomato puree
Snack: tablet of 50 grams of extra-deep cocoa
Dinner: 1 tablespoon of olive oil + vegetables to taste + 2 eggs

Diet Day 3

Breakfast: 2 vanilla and stracciatella yoghurts (tot. 250g) with 6 ground almonds
Snack: a big apple
Lunch: rice 80 grams, with grilled vegetables, 150 grams of chicken breast and a drizzle of oil
Snack: a coffee and two hazelnut chocolates
Dinner: grilled swordfish (250 grams) + vegetables to taste + 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Diet Day 4

Breakfast: 4 biscuits with chocolate spread and a glass of milk (250 ml)
Snack: a big apple
Lunch: bruschettone (80-100g) with tomato to taste, a drizzle of oil and tuna (a large box of 112 grams)
Snack: chocolate taste protein bar 50 g
Dinner: 1 tablespoon of olive oil + vegetables to taste + pork loin (150 g)

Diet Day 5

Breakfast: almonds (6), hazelnuts (8), dried figs (3) a spoon of raisins
Snack: natural yoghurt p. skimmed
Lunch: fruit salad, veal steak (150 g) bread (50 g)
Snack: tablet of 50 grams of extra-deep cocoa
Dinner: boiled potatoes (250 grams) a drizzle of oil, a lean beef hambrugher (100 grams)