Is Chocolate Alkaline Or Acidic?

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Chocolate is one of the most popular desserts that is a part of almost every culture. Its existence has been well known for centuries and is a part of many favorite cuisines.

Its origins date as far back as the Aztec and Mayan cultures, in very ancient recipes that require no addition of milk, sugar, or cocoa butter.

It doesn’t matter if a food product is acidic, basic, or neutral, it is measured by a parameter called pH. The pH value is a measure of the hydrogen value, in an ionic form, that can be found in the substance.

The pH scale is a measure of the alkalinity/acidity of a substance. This scale has 14 divided grades

0 – 6.8 (Acidic food)
6.8 – 7.2 (Normal like water)
7.2 – 14 (Alkaline food)

If you want to know a food’s alkalinity or acidity, you need to know its pH value. Some foods can be acidic, but once they are ingested into the body, they become alkaline-forming.

Scientifically, there are debates about the alkalinity of chocolate.

It is confusing because of the main ingredient – cocoa. The other ingredients you can find in the chocolate vary and are not always the same.

Cocoa nibs, by nature, are acidic, but they always go through a process of alkalization before being used in making chocolate. The other procedure involves adding the other ingredients to create chocolate. So, depending on the ingredients, chocolate can be mildly acidic or alkaline.

What is the pH of chocolate?

I can not find a person that never tried chocolate in their life. Knowing this massive chocolate popularity, it’s important to investigate its health benefits for people’s bodies.

Chocolate is produced from cocoa nibs that can come in different varieties like:

Criollo
Forastero
Trinitario

All of those nibs are slightly acidic, but they undergo the process of alkalization to create the unique and characteristic taste, color, and quality that chocolate is known for.

The specific ingredient used in creating chocolate determines its exact acidity/alkalinity. That is why its pH value can vary from 5.4 – 8.

Does chocolate make your body acidic or alkaline?

It depends on you, what would be the type of chocolate you will choose.

Dark chocolate without milk added and less sugar has a higher pH value and is alkaline. Milk chocolate with some extra cream, sugar and biscuit has lower pH and is acidic.

So, if you choose to eat dark chocolate, it will make your body normal to alkaline. On the contrary, chocolate with high sugar content will make your body acidic.

Is hot chocolate alkaline?

Hot chocolate is a tasty recipe made of whole-fat milk (neutral), sugar (acidic), starch (acidic), cocoa powder (alkaline), and vanilla (neutral).

This kind of mixture gives an acidic product. However, if the cocoa is mixed with coconut milk and sweetened with agave syrup, it will be more alkaline.

But the typical and well-known drink – Hot Chocolate, still represents an acidic product.

Is chocolate milk alkaline?

The most favorite drink of every child is chocolate milk. It is prepared with milk, cocoa, and sugar. For excellent stability of the product, the industry uses some additives. If you prepare it at home, there is no need for additives for stability.

Chocolate milk has an acidity of 6.3-6.7 pH. Because of its higher fat content, once it is ingested, it forces your stomach to produce more gastric acid, creating acidic content.

Knowing this reason, you may skip drinking chocolate milk if you are suffering from GERD.

Is dark chocolate alkalizing?

Dark chocolate is a delicacy with enormous popularity because of its health benefits. Its content has a small number of ingredients like cocoa, cocoa butter, and sweetener or sugar.

Dark chocolate represents an alkaline food that is good for humans.

However, it would help to be mindful of your chocolate intake because it is a food with high calories. It is recommended to take chocolate only in small amounts.

Related: Who is an Alkaline Vegan?

What chocolate is alkaline?

Every cocoa nib goes through a process of alkalization before it is produced and added to the chocolate. The process of alkalization can be separated into three categories depending on the time when the cocoa is alkalized:

nib alkalization
cocoa cake alkalization
chocolate liquor alkalization

All these three processes are different, and they give specific characterization to the end product.

The most alkaline chocolate is the one that contains a more significant part of pure cocoa in its content. This would be plain chocolate with no milk or cream added.

PH comparison of dark vs. white chocolate

The ingredient list of these two types of chocolate is entirely different. That is why even their taste is different. If we make an ingredient comparison, we will notice the differences in the table below.

White chocolate	Dark chocolate
Contains cocoa, cocoa butter, milk, sugar, vanilla	Contains cocoa, sugar/sweetener, cocoa butter
more acidic	more alkaline
pH between 5.6 and 6.4	6.8 – 7.6

Knowing the fact that sugar, milk, and butter are acidic forming ingredients, here we can see the pH values of both types of chocolate.

White chocolate has a pH between 5.6 and 6.4 – depending on the % of every ingredient included inside.
Dark chocolate has a pH between 6.8 – 7.6 – depending on the % of every component included inside.

Technically, both products carry the name “CHOCOLATE,” but they may have a varying degree of alkalinity depending on the type and form of chocolate.

That is why it is best to know the ingredients list and always to read the labels.

Related: Is Ginger Alkaline Or Acidic?

Can you have chocolate on an alkaline diet?

The alkaline diet represents a meal plan that includes food with an alkaline pH value. If you review the pH scale 0-14 and see its dividing:

0 – 6.8 (Acidic food)
6.8 – 7.2 (Neutral like water)
7.2 – 14 (Alkaline food)

You can see exactly what part of the scale alkalinity falls under. This scale measures the free ions of hydrogen in one ingredient.

Acids are substances that have hydrogen ions (i.e., protons), so this solution is valued as acidic because it contains more ions than water. Water is always on the neutral scale.

Chocolate as dessert is highly popular in the whole world, and you may wonder if it’s okay to eat it on an alkaline diet.

Well, the answer is, only darker chocolate types made from cocoa, cocoa butter, and sweetener are alkaline and can be eaten in an alkaline diet.

Final Notes

Dark chocolate was reviewed from the side of alkalinity, and we have confirmed that you can eat it on an alkaline diet. Nevertheless, dark chocolate has been reported to have better health benefits than others.

Dark chocolate represents a high-density nutritive product and should be eaten only as a dessert in very small quantities.

Incorrect use like high doses of black chocolate can lead to obesity, heartburn, and a lack of appetite for other foods. To derive black chocolate’s health benefits, you can add it to a variety of recipes such as: