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Chocolate – the edible contradiction. One moment it’s a decadent treat, a reward for a long day, a velvety square of happiness. The next, it’s a guilty pleasure, a diet-derailing sin, a foil-wrapped moral failure.
How did we get here? Why is it that something as simple as food, especially one as beloved as chocolate, ends up tangled in an ethical dilemma? The answer lies in food moralism: the tendency to assign virtue or vice to what we eat, turning nutrition into a moral battleground.
Food moralism operates on a simple yet flawed principle: “good” foods make you a good person, and “bad” foods… well, you’re supposed to feel remorseful for eating them. High-energy-density foods, like chocolate, often find themselves on the wrong side of this moral equation.
Researchers have long known that moralising about food is a characteristic of eating disorders. However, a study published in 2022 in Frontiers in Nutrition is the first to reliably demonstrate that the public also associates high-calorie foods with moral impurity, which can lead to feelings of guilt when eating those foods. This is a problem, not only because it takes the joy out of eating, but because it can contribute to disordered eating patterns and an unhealthy relationship with food.
All foods provide something useful – contrary to what diet companies would have us believe. Some, like fruits and vegetables, are packed with vitamins and minerals. Others, like chocolate, contain antioxidants and flavonoids, which may help reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Even foods often demonised for being empty calories still serve a purpose. At the very least, they provide energy, which our bodies need to function. When we strip away the moral labels, we can appreciate food for what it is: nourishment in various forms, each with its own role in a balanced diet.
Nutritionally, chocolate, especially the dark variants, provides a raft of useful nutrients along with a delectable taste. In particular, chocolate is a rich source of polyphenols such as catechins, anthocyanidins, and proanthocyanidins, which have antioxidant properties that protect the body from damaging free radicals.
A 2016 study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found that dark chocolate consumption blunted the inflammatory response at a cellular level, in study participants who underwent stress-inducing tasks. This mechanism may add to the beneficial effects of dark chocolate on cardiovascular health, say the researchers.
Additionally, a 2021 review published in Nutrients found that chocolate or cocoa product consumption reduced triglyceride levels. However, they did not find any significant improvements in measured blood pressure, blood glucose levels, or other aspects of blood lipids in chocolate eaters. In contrast, a 2019 review in Clinical Nutrition found weak evidence that chocolate consumption is associated with improved health outcomes.
Chocolate milk, too, has nutritional value beyond its reputation as a sugary indulgence. In fact, a review published in 2018 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that drinking chocolate milk after exercise provided greater endurance and cleared lactate faster than a placebo or other sports recovery drinks. This is another good example of how food that is often dismissed as bad can have a legitimate role in a well-balanced diet.
At the end of the day, chocolate may not be the next miracle superfood, but that doesn’t mean it has no value or is morally bad. When we stop moralising about food, something remarkable happens: we see food for what it is – an opportunity for nourishment, pleasure, and shared traditions with family and friends. Labelling chocolate or a bottle of chocolate milk, as bad not only strips away enjoyment, it also oversimplifies nutrition into a black-and-white equation that does not hold up to scientific scrutiny.
No single food or meal determines your health; it’s the sum of what you eat over time. Just as eating one salad won’t make you healthy, neither will eating a piece of chocolate ruin your health. Remember, too, that wellbeing isn’t just about physical health; our emotional wellbeing counts too. So the next time you unwrap chocolate or grab a chocolate milk, remember it’s just food. Try savouring it, and focus on balanced eating, not moral judgements, because that is the real key to health.
As well as Jennifer Bowden’s columns in the NZ Listener, listener.co.nz subscribers can access her fortnightly Myth-buster column which explores food and nutrition myths.
