Sugar-free chocolates are promoted as a painless solution for those watching their diet and weight and also for diabetic patients. Many times they are also promoted by some dietitians. It is not improbable that someone will fall into the trap, of course, because seeing the title "without sugar" on the package, you may believe that you will consume a "forbidden" food without calories, therefore without consequences. But let's see what the truth is.
If one looks carefully at the packaging and compares a regular chocolate with a sugar-free one, one will notice that the difference in calories is very small. One might think: "But since it doesn't contain sugar, shouldn't it have significantly fewer calories?" And what has sugar been replaced with?
Most often instead of sugar, a polyol (sweetener) is used, maltitol which yields 2-3 calories per gram. Of course, the difference with normal sugar is not that big, which yields 4 calories per gram. Is maltitol healthier? Maltitol has been reported to have a low glycemic index, meaning it does not raise blood sugar too quickly, making it a good solution for diabetics. But that's not exactly the case, as research shows that chocolate with maltitol causes the same increase in sugar as regular chocolate with sugar.
The second important fact is that a chocolate contains not only sugar, but also a large amount of fat. Can a sugar-free chocolate contain quite a lot of fat, and even more than many simple normal chocolates! Finally, if we look at the calories, a sugar-free chocolate gives us about 120-130 calories per 30 g, while the regular one has 160 calories. The difference isn't that big.
What is the conclusion?
If someone wants to consume chocolate without sugar, let them do it. But the important thing is that he does not exonerate this food in his mind and be led to overconsumption. The same goes for dark chocolates, of course. So consume any chocolate you want, as long as you pay attention to the quantity and the frequency you do it!
Written by Nikos Cafetzopoulos, clinical dietitian - nutritionist Nutribase
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