It’s no secret that the popularity of sugar free chocolate has rocketed since we waved goodbye to that bitter, chalky ‘diabetic’ chocolate of the past (good riddance!). Luckily for us all, we now have a whole variety of sugar free goodness that tastes just as rich and melt-in-the-mouth as regular chocolate.
This revolution means that the wonderful world of chocolate is now open to more people than ever.
However, as people are making the change from regular to sugar free chocolate, more and more people are asking us the question ‘how healthy is it?’.
In this article, we’ll cover exactly what we replace the sugar with, what the huge health benefits are... and as always, what to watch out for if you have too much.
Explore our delicious range of sugar free chocolate
How is Sugar Free Chocolate Made?
We make our luxury sugar free chocolate by replacing the sugar with Maltitol, a naturally occurring sweetener found in starch.
Why Maltitol? Most importantly, it has a similar amount of sweetness as sugar and no unpleasant aftertaste, unlike other sweeteners. This means that we can create some incredibly delicious flavours at The Pod like milk hazelnut, dark peppermint and even white chocolate cappuccino without being able to taste the difference.
It also has a high melting point which makes it a perfect ingredient for chocolate (although it’s our Chocolatiers who get most excited about this bit).
For those wondering, we do occasionally use isomalt and sorbitol as sugar substitutes for our truffle fillings, but these are not used in the chocolate.
The Health Benefits of Maltitol (Sweetener)
- The biggest health benefit from using Maltitol - and the main reason we choose to use it at The Pod - is that it causes a slower rise in blood sugar compared to regular sugar used in chocolate.
How? When you eat regular chocolate, your blood sugar level ‘spikes’ up as sugar is quickly absorbed by the body and then crashes down (we’ve all heard of the infamous sugar crash). By using Maltitol, this sudden spike is reduced because only a small portion is absorbed at a time. This means you therefore don’t need to produce a large reactive amount of insulin, which:
A) is much healthier for your body
B) gives an awesome solution so that diabetics can eat chocolate too.
- The number of calories in Maltitol is nearly half of the amount of sugar, which makes it a good alternative if you’re focused on weight loss.
- Maltitol doesn’t cause as much tooth decay and cavities as sugar and other sweeteners, which is why it’s used in some kinds of toothpaste and chewing gum. This makes it healthier for your teeth - and keeps your dentist happier too!
Explore our delicious range of sugar free chocolate
When Sugar Free Chocolate (or any Chocolate) Isn’t Healthy:
Some people have reported that the Maltitol in sugar free chocolate can cause laxative effects - and this is true - but only when consumed in large quantities of over 100g per day (which arguably isn’t healthy, no matter what type of chocolate is it).
We always recommend sticking to the daily recommended amount - even though we know first-hand how tough this can truly be!
What’s The Conclusion?
Good news! Overall, sugar free chocolate is supported by many health professionals as a healthy alternative to regular chocolate, especially if you want to avoid blood sugar spikes and take extra care of your teeth!
As with anything in life, too much of a good thing can tip the balance. This means you can still order as much chocolate as you can carry - just make sure you don’t eat it all at once!
Looking for some Sugar Free Chocolate? Our selection truly is amongst the best sugar-free chocolate on the market. Check out our amazing range of sugar free chocolate today!