Looking for Diabetic Chocolate

[chocoholicmad]

Hi there,

Im new to the site! I've made a few posts but its my first thread so treat me gently A couple of my family members have type two diabetes but they both love chocolate. To be fair to them they've cut it out of their diets as much as possible. However in recent years more diabetic chocolate seems to be on sale, Ive looked for some locally but not had much looking finding any good quality choc. Do any of you have any info regarding it, where to get some etc? Thanks

Adam

 

[IanD]

Beware! Chocolates labelled "Diabetic" have non-sugar sweeteners that have a powerful laxative effect. Read the health warning on the box! Eat no more than 2 in a day. You obviously did not see my appearance on "Watchdog." My family & friends do not give me diabetic labelled items.

You might as well eat 1 or 2 normal chocs. Or learn to love black chocolate. Better still, snack on nuts.

 

[viviennem]

Any of the brands that do a good dark chocolate - Lindt, Green & Black's, some supermarket own brands. Look for anything 70% cocoa solids or above, and check the amount of carbs on the nutritional information.

I go for 85% or 90% cocoa solids, which can be about 16g carb per 100g - 1.6g per 10g. I defy anyone to eat a whole block in one go, and you get a lot of chocolate bang in a small amount.

Viv 8)

 

[pianoman]

As above: I avoid any food that makes claims like "Diabetic" or has "Healthy" splashed all over the packaging -- these are red flags so far as I am concerned. Real whole food has no need to shout or try and convince about being good for you.

On the other hand, the good news is that chocolate does not have to be avoided... in fact there is some evidence that it is a rich natural source of many helpful nutrients.

The catch is that in order to avoid the sugar you need to go dark -- 70% cocoa or higher. This can be an acquired taste so take your time and you may find you can tolerate 85%, 90% or even the almost 99% bakers varieties. My staple is now 85% and if I ever do eat 70% now it tastes like milk-chocolate!

One trick I find is to let it melt in your mouth, rather than chewing it which can taste gritty and bitter. It is very rich, so a little can go a long way.

Experiment with your own blends by melting 70% and 85% together (for example), maybe add some heavy cream and raw nuts. Enjoy

---

Viv and I were posting at the same time (I'm just slower at typing ) so I'll just add my vote to both the brands she mentioned :wink:

 

[chocoholicmad]

Thanks for your advice guys, they're definetely more milk than dark chocolate lovers though! I suppose they may have to broaden their horizons.

 

[pianoman]

Start them with the 70%, maybe blend in a little 85% and heavy cream, a few nuts.. and each time you make then some more, add in a bit extra 85%? Orange zest can be great as well, and Lindt have a wild variety including hot Chilis.. it is amazing although still around 70%

 

[RussG]

I love eating cherries with very dark chocolate. You don't need much of either but it's a lovely treat. As others have said, I'd generally stay away from diabetic chocolates. They're generally not that nice, and 'excessive consumption can produce laxative effects' is a bit of an understatement. If you're feeling generous, try Hotel Chocolat for nice dark choc (lovely but pricey).

The other thing is that they can have milk chocolate but as with all things, only in moderation. It depends on their level of will power, I guess.

 

[noblehead]

Adam,

Don't be misled by chocolate products stating they are 'suitable for diabetics' as they are usually over-priced and will have you running to the loo due to the laxative effect of the artificial sweeteners.

Choose dark chocolate with a high coco content, Green & Blacks are good but I use to buy mine from Aldi where they sell a brand called Moser Roth, it has a 85% coco and tastes delicious but best of all it's far cheaper than most well known brands!

Nigel

 

[wiflib]

A quick, post-and-run post.

I just bought a bar from the lowcarbmegastore that was reviewed as tasting 'the closest to Cadburys he'd ever eaten'. Can't remember the name but I'll have a look later and post.

I ordered a bar and the review is true. It was lovely. But I shan't be doing it again. I simply can't eat one or two squares.

wiflib

 

[Snodger]

Thanks for your advice guys, they're definetely more milk than dark chocolate lovers though! I suppose they may have to broaden their horizons.

well, I thought pianoman's advice was good: if you are feeling kind you could make them chocs. Delia Smith's xmas book has a good recipe for ganache chocs. Make it with dark (70% or more) choc, but you add your own ingredients to make it creamy and lovely and more milk choc like.

I have to say that I don't despise 'diabetic' chocs as much as I'm told I'm supposed to. Personally I don't get a laxative effect from them, and I found it useful when first diagnosed to eat them in order to wean myself off ordinary choc.
I realise that this is heresy and I fully expect to be flamed.
Having said that, I don't eat them any more, partly because I got the taste for dark choc, and partly because as an insulin user I have the flexibility to eat the ordinary stuff.

tra la la.

bouja bouja is another good low sugar brand - lots of interesting centres of chocs even though they are dark choc coated.

 

[pianoman]

I don't see any reason to despise "diabetic" chocolates nor why you would get flamed ...it's no surprise that each us has different tastes and tolerances.. as they say up North "there's nowt so strange as folk" :wink: Although I think the warning about too much sugar alcohols is best given

I know some others who like to use the artificial sweeteners or alternative like Nutriva (?) and Stevia (?) ... I have always preferred what I (perhaps snobbishly) call "real" food -- I never liked margarine always preferring butter and I suspect that some of these labels have more to do with marketing than any real benefit to those they are aimed at.

 

[smidge]

Hi Adam,

The only way to know how these chocolates will affect your relatives is for them to try them. The two warnings I would give are:

1. Laxative effect - this has been mentioned by others. It doesn't affect me at all.
2. Blood sugar rises - many common sugar alcohols (Polyols) e.g. Maltitol and Xylitol do raise my blood glucose significantly - nearly as much as sucrose. In fact, I just ate an Atkins cereal bar (Maltitol-based) and my BG just measured 9.9 :roll: (Atkins' assertion that sugar alcohols can be deducted from the carb content of food as they do not have a significan impact on blood glucose is simply wrong!) However, your Type 2 relatives might get away with it (I'm LADA so might react differently to Type 2s. Who knows?).

If you do want to give it a go, the Thorntons sugar-free milk chocolate is absolutely lovely - tastes just like Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Others on this site might tell you not to touch it with a bargepole because of their unfortunate experiences with it, but if it didn't spike my BG the way it does, I would eat it.

Smidge

 

[Patch]

Google the following recipes:

Coconut Chocolate Bark
Low carb truffles

 

[carty]

Moser roth that noblehead mentioned do a chilli cherry dark choc that is absolutely wonderful :lol:
CAROL

 

[bretty]

im no expert, but before i was diagnoised i loved chocolate and did the same sort of thing askd on here ask the doctors and people with diabetes where and what diabetic chocolate is like? and i was told its just as bad as normal chocolate if not worse and its expensive lol but if u did want to try some boots sell alot of it .

 

[bowell]

Diabetic chocolates and laxative effect from them
I am Morphine user so welcome that effect :mrgreen: Sometimes

 

[wiflib]

Ah, yes, Boots do a fruit and nut milk chocolate for 'diabetics'. This really does sort out any constipation issues you may have.

wiflib

 

[wiflib]

............and here's the link I promised

http://www.lowcarbmegastore.com/filled- ... sugar-milk

wiflib

 

[goldfish_21]

As far as specialist 'diabetic' chocolate goes, the only palatable ones I've found are thorntons dark choc and mint truffles which are really rather nice, quite sweet and not at all bitter, like some dark choc can be. However, you do have to take on board everything that everyone else has said about diabetic chocs, including the expense, the laxative effect, and that they may be just as bad for your blood glucose levels as 'normal' choc.......

I've tried a few other diabetic choc brands, including Boots and Thorntons ordinary diabetic choc bars, and personally find eating them to be rather like I'd imagine it would be like to eat a faintly chocolate flavoured wax crayon. That is my personal opinion though, so if any choc makers are reading this please don't sue!

Vicky

Vicky

 

[sue32]

Sainsburys sell their own brand 'no added sugar' plain and milk chocolate. The milk choc has more carbs in than the plain, but it is very, very nice. It doesn't have a laxative effect on me, but I have to admit to buying a HUGE bar of Cadbury's dairy milk, breaking it into 4 or 6 pieces each and freezing it. By the time you've sucked your way through 2 cubes you've had enough!!!!