Following up on our previous blog post about why sugar is added to chocolate, we now explore is there such a thing as too much sugar?

There are some who would say ‘chocolate is bad because it is full of sugar. Too much of anything is not a good idea which is why portion sizes is a very active topic among marketeers.

As a starter which has less sugar?

A typical breakfast cereal or a dark craft chocolate bar?

A low fat yogurt or a dark craft chocolate bar?

Many people will be aware that breakfast cereals contain sugar. Some a lot. And that many breakfast cereals give a delightful sugar hit.

Here is some data that shows a comparison of well known breakfast cereals with Charley’s chocolate.

Popular breakfast cereals	Gm sugar per 100g cereal	Teaspoons of sugar in 100g	Portion size range – grams	Spoons of sugar
Coco pops	32g	8	100 - 300g	8 – 24g
Corn flakes	7.3g	2	100 - 300g	2 – 6g
Crunchy nut clusters	28.9g	7	100 - 300g	7 - 21g
Fruit loops	35g	9	100 - 300g	9 - 27g
Nutri-grain	36.3g	9	100 - 300g	9 -27g
Charley’s Mount Edna chocolate (80gm bars)	37.5g	9.5	15 – 30g	1.4 – 2.8g

So, it’s chocolate for breakfast?

An alternate to sugary breakfast cereals may be yoghurt. Yoghurt is not necessarily sugar free but some are better than others.

Yoghurts	Grams of sugar in 100g serving	No of teaspoons	Typical portion size – grams	Sugar  consumed
Chobani Greek	2.7g	0.7	100 - 150g	0.7 – 1.4g
Meredith Sheep	3.3g	0.8	100 - 150g	0.8 – 1.6g
Siggi's 4% Fat Vanilla	6.7g	1.7	100 - 150g	1.7 – 3.4g
Yoplait Vanilla	12.8g	3.2	100 - 150g	3.2 – 6.4g
Woolworths Vanilla Yoghurt 98% Fat Free	11.5g	2.9	100 - 150g	2.9 – 5.8g
Charley’s Mount Edna chocolate (80g bars)	24g / 80g bar (37.5g / 100g )	9.5	15 – 30g	1.4 – 2.8g

Once again, on a portion size basis chocolate compares favourably.

So, it’s chocolate for that quick snack?

Other common delights

These comparisons can be taken further; to include Coca Cola and wine. When the portion size is considered a craft chocolate bar (70% cocoa) compares well.

A 330ml can of Coca Cola has just over eight teaspoons of sugar in (35g of sugar). A bottle of red wine (750CL) has around six teaspoons. A craft chocolate bar (80g bar of 70%) contains about six teaspoons of sugar. Most people drink the full can of coke in one sitting. Most people share the bottle of red wine. And most craft chocolate consumers share and savour the bar of chocolate over a few evenings.

BUT not all chocolate is created equal. If you examine the ingredients of a mass-produced milk (or dark) chocolate bar and you’ll notice it will have a far higher sugar content (60% in some cases).

So choose wisely and savour with friends or over a number of sittings with that chocolate bar!!

Note: Data for this blog came from Woolworths website which provides nutritional information for most of its products.

Conversion rate for sugar to spoons is four grams per teaspoon.