That holiday hot chocolate may be worse for your health than you thought.
While each delicious mug is made with a cup of calcium-rich milk, experts say the calcium content not be enough to fight the harmful effects of the beverages’ 20-60 grams of fattening sugar on your bone health — an amount that’s more than twice the sugar in a standard candy bar.
A cup of skim milk has 300 milligrams of calcium, an essential mineral that helps keep bones strong by forming their mineral structure. Hot chocolate has around 262.5 milligrams of calcium, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center, and whipped cream contains three milligrams.
But hot chocolate is often served with “the works,” including whipped cream, sprinkles, powdered chocolate and sugar or those little chocolate curls on top. That can add as much or more than double the typical 20 grams of sugar. And a cup of milk contains 12 grams of sugar, in additional to vitamins and nutrients.
All together, that can make for a more sugary outcome than winter beverage lovers might think. Eating too much sugar can lead to life-threatening weight gain, high blood sugar and blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, leading to heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
“Traditional hot chocolate can deliver calcium and protein from milk – both great for your bones – but the benefits can be outweighed if it’s loaded with sugar or whipped cream,” Dr. Pamela Mehta, an orthopedic surgeon and founder of Resilience Orthopedics in Los Gatos, California, told Parade.
Chocolate has been found to reduce bone density in postmenopausal women and eating chocolate daily can mess with the way our bones absorb calcium, researchers say.
However, it also matters what kind of chocolate you’re consuming.
Milk and white chocolate, for example, are high in sugar and lower in most minerals, while dark chocolate is lower in sugar and higher in minerals.
White chocolate has up to 65 grams of sugar, milk can have as many as 60 grams and dark chocolate has about 30 grams, according to Whitakers Chocolates.
Dark chocolate is widely recognized as a healthier option than milk or white chocolate because of this – even with a higher fat content – and its bone-protecting magnesium and phosphorous and anti-inflammatory plant compounds known as flavonoids.
And it’s not just calcium absorption that’s a problem.
Inflammation is another concern, as it disrupts our constant bone breakdown and build up that keeps bones strong and healthy, according to Mehta.
“Too much sugar can promote inflammation and affect the balance between bone breakdown and formation over time,” she said.
A balanced diet can help reduce these impacts. So can a healthier hot chocolate.
That can mean using a low-sugar sweetener instead of regular sugar and not buying the powdered hot chocolate mixes. Still, there are several reduced calorie hot chocolate options for sale as packets online.
You can get a calcium kick out of healthier foods and drinks, such as an almond milk latte. Adults should get around 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day, according to federal health guidance.
Using ultra-filtered milk has more protein and calcium – 80 milligrams more calcium – than regular milk, as well.
“Ultra-filtered milk also packs in more calcium per serving than regular milk, which may support bone health,” registered dietitian Cassandra Padula Burke told Real Simple.
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