Dark chocolate is the richest chocolate in fiber, containing 10.9 grams of fiber per 100g. A serving provides 11% of the recommended daily intake! Milk and white chocolates have negligible amounts of fiber.
Dark chocolate is high in fiber
Actually, dark chocolate is an excellent dietary source of fiber! Dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids has 10.9 grams of fiber per 100g. A small 1-oz serving has 3.1 grams of fiber, which is 11% of the Daily Value!
Dark chocolate with 70-85% cacao solids is the richest chocolate in fiber! Other dark chocolates with less cacao solids are also good natural sources of fiber. They provide 7-8% of the recommended daily intake of fiber per serving!
| cacao solids | fiber/100g (grams) | fiber/serving (grams) | % DV |
| 70-85% | 10.9 | 3.1 | 11% |
| 60-69% | 8 | 2.3 | 8% |
| 45-59% | 7 | 2 | 7% |
Does white & milk chocolate have fiber?
On the other hand, most white and milk chocolates contain negligible amounts of fiber, as they have low concentrations of cacao beans.
Only milk chocolates with almonds or hazelnuts contain 6.2 grams of fiber per 100g, or 1.75 grams per serving (6% DV). Actually, almonds and hazelnuts, as all nuts, are good dietary sources of fiber.
Chocolate hazelnut spreads contain some fiber as well. They have 5.4 grams of fiber per 100g, or 1.1 grams per tablespoon (4% DV).
However, most chocolate candies contain no fiber. Although baking chocolate is particularly rich in fiber, containing up to 18g of fiber per 100g, most sweets have small amounts.
How much fiber do we need a day?
It is highly recommended to consume at least is 28 grams of fiber per 2,000 calories. Much higher dosages may be beneficial as well.
However, most people fail to consume adequate amounts of fiber. In fact, average fiber intakes for people who follow the standard Western diet is less than half of the recommended daily intake!
After all, animal products contain no fiber. Fiber is naturally present only in plant-based foods.
Consuming adequate amounts of fiber is vital for our health. High fiber intake has been linked to significantly lower risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and certain gastrointestinal diseases. Also, high fiber intake may lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels![2]
Additionally, fiber improves insulin sensitivity and enhances immune function!
Moreover, fiber contributes to healthy gut microbiota, which is crucial for health. Gut microbiota protects the body from chronic inflammations, improves metabolic processes, and promotes weight loss, due to regulation of appetite![3]
Should I eat chocolate to meet our daily fiber needs?
Dark chocolate is healthy. It has a superior nutritional value. Besides fiber, it’s particularly rich in iron. Also, dark chocolate contains decent amounts of potassium, copper, magnesium, chromium, manganese, calcium, and even protein!
Most noteworthy, cocoa solids are packed with antioxidants. In fact, cocoa solids are among the richest foods in polyphenols.[4]
Thus, consuming a small serving of dark chocolate a day, as part of a healthy, well-balanced diet, could actually help us lose weight.
Better avoid consuming dark chocolate late at night, though. It’s rich in caffeine. A small serving of dark chocolate has almost 23 mg of caffeine, or about 30% of the caffeine content in an espresso shot.
The best time to eat chocolate is a couple of hours after lunch.
But, we should eat only small amounts of dark chocolate, as it has too many calories. Just a small 1-oz serving has 170 calories! So, although dark chocolate contributes to the daily fiber intake, we shouldn’t depend on it to meet our daily needs. We should eat other foods high in fiber.
Common foods with fiber
If you want to increase the daily fiber intake, you should follow a whole food, plant-based diet. Only plants contain dietary fiber. Beans, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seeds, and nuts are rich in fiber! Even favorite foods, such whole grain bread, potatoes, popcorn, and pasta, are high in fiber.
