What Can 1 oz of Dark Chocolate Do For You?

Any chocolate lovers out there? I have always loved sweets, especially chocolate. Fruits and vegetables are yummy, but let’s face it, so is chocolate! As you may have heard before, there are some definite advantages to a little dark chocolate in your diet, especially for athletes. Just remember to savor a small amount!

What will you get from 1oz of dark chocolate with 70-85% cocao?

Fiber

Dark chocolate, surprisingly, packs about 3 grams of fiber in 1 oz! Most Americans are deficient when it comes to fiber, so this is a great opportunity to score a little bit more. This helps with blood sugar regulation, blood lipids, and digestive health.

Carbohydrate

You should definitely be replenishing carbohydrates after exercise! Within the first 30 minutes after exercise, your muscles are most receptive to storing glycogen for your next bout of exercise. This is extremely important for endurance athletes. So you can count on about 13g from dark chocolate.

Iron

Endurance athletes need to be sure to get enough iron in their diet due to losses in sweat, ‘foot strike’ breakdown of red blood cells, etc. Never take an iron supplement unless instructed by a doctor; however, getting enough in your diet is key! Can you believe that dark chocolate delivers 3.3 mg of iron, which is more than a cup of raw spinach? Please don’t get the idea that I’m knocking spinach, because it is awesome, but I wanted to point out a very cool feature of dark chocolate!

Magnesium

Have you ever experienced muscle twitching and cramps after a long or intense workout? There could be a lot of reasons for this, but a lack of magnesium could be to blame. We lose a lot of magnesium in our sweat and you can replace about 64mg with a delicious oz of dark chocolate. Research about whether or not magnesium can enhance athletic ability shows some mixed results; however, we know it is lost in sweat, so it doesn’t hurt to replenish with real food.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

You’ve heard of this heart-healthy fat, right? You get about 9.5mg from dark chocolate!

Phosphorus

While there isn’t an overwhelming amount of phosphorus in dark chocolate, there is still a notable amount. This is an important mineral for bone health. Strong bones are important for everyone, but especially for those prone to stress fractures.

Enjoy your oz! Nutrition information gathered from SELFNutritionData.