Can I get chocolate if I’m on a ketogenic diet?

Maybe you’ve been weighting a few kilograms, especially in the early, more restrictive periods since the start of the Motor Control Command (MCO) in March (2020), and are trying to lose them on a diet.

Today, we’ll take a look at the current popular diet, the ketogenic diet, and focus on whether you can eat chocolate during this diet.

We will tell you the good news in advance. Yes, you can eat chocolate during the keto diet.

While this diet requires cutting out many of your favorite foods, snacks and desserts, dark chocolate is still one of the permissible guilt feelings.

But how does dark chocolate meet the ketogenic diet limits?

And what kind of dark chocolate should you be looking for?

Reduce sugar

Compared to milk chocolate, dark chocolate contains a higher concentration of cocoa.

This often indicates that chocolate contains less sugar.

As a result, dark chocolate usually has a bitter taste compared to the sweet and creamy taste of milk chocolate.

Eating a milk chocolate bar will negate your weight loss efforts, so turn the chocolate bar over and check the nutrition label.

No matter how strong your cravings are, if it doesn’t fit your ketogenic diet, put it down.

Most milk chocolates contain high levels of processed sugar and have little health benefit.

Eating sugar is basically the same as eating carbohydrates.

The sugar is converted to glucose and throws your body out of ketosis.

Certainly, processed sugars are generally not good for your body and should be avoided.

To qualify as dark chocolate, the product must contain a minimum of 50% cocoa solids (which can be up to 90%), while milk chocolate has 10% to 50%. Contains only% cocoa solids.

Dark chocolate, which has a high percentage of cocoa solids, is inherently much richer in a plant-derived substance called flavanols, which is thought to help protect the heart.

This means that dark chocolate is not only a good snack to eat during a ketogenic diet, but also a reasonably good snack to promote heart health.

Dark chocolate must also have a low sugar content to be keto-friendly.

It is important to choose dark chocolate varieties with at least 70% cocoa solids to reduce sugar and flavanol consumption.

Craving for chocolate

The downside of the diet is that it may be deficient in certain nutrients.

We end up in craving when our bodies are not enough.

If you crave chocolate, you may need more magnesium.

Dark chocolate contains up to 176g of magnesium per 100g of serving, making it one of the best ways to get magnesium into your body.

By the way, magnesium deficiency is a real problem now.

Humans ingested magnesium from plants and vegetables because of the soil in which they and vegetables grew.

However, certain commonly used treatment methods have led to a reduction in magnesium in the soil and therefore in our diet.

Magnesium is also derived from drinking water, but nowadays water is filtered frequently to remove negative bacteria and add-ins, so the valuable magnesium content is also filtered out.

For this reason, most humans are deficient in magnesium.

Some symptoms of magnesium deficiency include malaise, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and weakness.

These symptoms increase as the deficiency becomes more severe.

Symptoms of severe magnesium deficiency include depression, numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps, seizures, personality changes, arrhythmias, and coronary cramps.

Continuing a diet, changing the way you think about food, and fostering an overall healthy lifestyle can often be stressful.

This also leads to a craving for home cooking like chocolate.

Eating chocolate increases your well-being and releases dopamine into your brain, which helps you cope with stress.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that makes you happy.

And if you’re happy to eat chocolate, it’s no wonder you’re hungry for chocolate when you’re stressed.

In conclusion, let’s see why dark chocolate is beneficial to our health.

• Ketogenic diet friendly
• Make you happy by releasing dopamine
• Rich in magnesium
• Reduces stress.

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist and expert in functional medicine. For more information, please email starhealth @ thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and should not be construed as personal medical advice. The information published in this article is not intended to replace, replace, or reinforce your own consultation with a healthcare professional. Star We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness, or other guarantees regarding the content displayed in this column. Star We disclaim all liability for loss, property damage, or personal injury incurred directly or indirectly by our reliance on such information.