Easter is a time for family, friends, new beginnings, and you guessed it...chocolate. With the shops full of tempting chocolate Easter eggs, it's time to find out how to eat chocolate in a healthier way.
Although it's extremely important to eat a healthy, balanced diet, with a little extra attention it's easy to enjoy the Easter period.
But what if you have diabetes?
Well, it's a myth that you should eat diabetic chocolate. In fact, we recommend eating real chocolate and avoiding diabetic chocolate completely. This is because diabetic chocolate offers no health benefit over real chocolate – see 'Real chocolate versus diabetic chocolate', below.How to eat real chocolate more healthily
But with 'health' being the name of the game, try to only eat chocolate in moderation: this has nothing to do with having diabetes, though – the advice applies to everybody.Moderation means trying to keep it for special treats rather than using it to satisfy hunger, and also means not eating loads in one go. Don't panic, though – there are ways to make moderation easier – see 'Top choc tips...', below.
Real chocolate versus diabetic chocolate
Real chocolate...
- contains carbohydrate in the form of added sugar that affects blood glucose levels
- contains fat
- contains calories
- doesn't make you go to the loo more
- per 50g serving, costs 50 to 60p.
Diabetic chocolate...
- instead of sugar, contains bulk sweeteners like fructose or sorbitol, which still affect blood glucose levels
- tends to contain just as much fat – and is often high in the really bad type of fats, saturated and trans fat
- tends to contain just as many calories
- does make you go to the loo more (can have a laxative effect)
- per 50g serving, costs around £1.40.
Top choc tips for eating it in moderation
- Wean yourself on to good-quality dark chocolate. It has a stronger taste than milk chocolate so you won't need to eat as much to satisfy your chocolate craving.
- If you like your choc bar to have a filling, choose fruit rather than nuts because fruit is lower in calories and fat than nuts. For example, choose chocolate-coated cherries, raspberries, or cranberries rather than chocolate-coated Brazil nuts or peanuts. Chocolate-coated pretzels and rice or corn cakes and are other lower-fat alternatives.
- Try out low-fat chocolate alternatives such as low-fat chocolate yogurts and mousse, low-calorie chocolate drinks and chocolate sorbet.
- Eat slowly – let the chocolate melt in your mouth to give yourself time to enjoy the taste and texture.
- Store your chocolate in the fridge because it will then take even longer to melt in your mouth.
- Try to save chocolate-eating for after a meal, when you will naturally be less hungry.
- Decide how much you are going to eat and put the rest of the chocolate away, out of reach. This should help prevent you from having 'just one more piece' and wolfing down the whole lot before you realise it.
- Read the labels for carb content to help adjust your insulin levels.
- Grate chocolate to make it go further.
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