Sugar free chocolate

There are many types of sugar free chocolate today. Ideal for enjoying a piece of chocolate without worrying about the sugars. Especially people with diabetes benefit from sugar free chocolate to limit the sugar. It's a little bit different than regular chocolate and often has a more bitter taste. Often Stevia extract is used. This is a substance that is 30 to 100 times sweeter with little to no calories. Often you can buy this in the supermarket on the sugar free shelf. Most shops have the brand Céréal in their assortment.

Health effects

Sugar-free chocolate alone does not help with your diet. The sweeteners will reduce your calories, but not your weight. It does have the advantage of lowering your sugar levels if you have diabetes, for instance. Another positive effect is that it is better for your teeth. It does not give a feeling of sugar intake so you will quickly overeat. Be careful with this! There will always be some natural sugar in it, so it is never 100% sugar free.

What is the best sugar free chocolate?

The Dutch population unanimously agrees that the best sugar free chocolate is the dark variety. This bitter and healthier chocolate variant is generally considered to be the most delicious. Without added sugar but with Stevia and malitol. We also see that people with other variants such as hazelnut or brand tend more towards the products with the highest cocoa content.

Sugar-free chocolate and diabetes

For anyone with diabetes but especially people with type 2 diabetes need to watch their diet carefully. Therefore, taking sugar free chocolate is a good alternative.
The only pitfall with sugar free chocolate is that you may want to eat more of it because it contains little to no calories. However, as you will understand, that is not the intention.

Is sugar-free chocolate safe?

Many people fear the health risks of sugar free chocolate because of the sweeteners it contains. You can argue about that but in most cases the health risks are not that big if you eat it in moderation. The fact that it would be carcinogenic is not entirely scientifically proven because some say it is and others say it is not. The nutrition center and knowledge center sweeteners indicate that it is all safe. However if you eat too much of it you will have diarrhea.

What types of sweeteners are there ?

There are usually two types of sweeteners used for sugar free chocolate. Xylitol which is extracted from the birch tree. This product has a lot of flavor but there are not many chocolate bars available. You can count them on one hand in the Netherlands. Then there is Stevia which is extracted from the Stevia plant. You will find this in most sugar free products in the Netherlands. It is a completely natural sweetener that is extracted from plants. Unfortunately, not many people like the taste of it because, just as with other sugar-free products, it has a completely different taste.

Sugar free chocolate with Stevia

The reviews of the Dutch population about sugar free chocolate are generally positive. Céreal is the most popular product in terms of sugar free chocolate and for this reason you can also find it in many supermarkets. Originally a Belgian brand, we have always been fans of Belgian chocolate, also for ice cream and other chocolate products. With the addition of Stevia it's healthier and generally well experienced. They also recently started adding maltitol which is another sweetener that is just a little better in taste. You get this from malt sugar. It's the least sweet but just as bitter as chocolate should be.