I’ve seen everything now. First there was the ‘99% Fat Free’ chocolate - like, duh, just because a chocolate bar is low in fat, doesn’t mean it won’t make you fat.

If you eat too much of any type of nutrient - whether that be a fat, protein, or sugar (carbohydrate), the excess is stored in your body as fat. So, a fat-free chocolate bar counts just as much as a fat-filled chocolate bar when it comes to the battle of the bulge.

There’s an interesting twist on this. A commercial ingredient manufacturer has developed a collagen product to help chocolate manufacturers lower the fat content in their bars. Now, whilst I’m not mad on the ‘fat-free/low fat’ fad in functional food, there does appear to be some other nutritional benefit to this approach.

It works by partly replacing the cocoa butter with the collagen, which is a protein based product. So, the chocolate bar actually has a higher protein concentration as a result. I think this is the most promising aspect, as I’m a bit of a fan of the Zone diet, and like the way they balance protein, carbohydrate, and fat in every meal.

The collagen product also reduces saturated fat by 28%, which is good news for heart health. Cholesterol itself is reduced by 15%, and overall calories by 8%. So, this does make it a better choice in terms of watching how many calories you’re consuming (if you are -:)).

They say it doesn’t affect the properties associated with regular chocolate. They include in this:

• color
• texture
• the way it feels in your mouth
• crystallization

If you’ve ever had home made fudge that was crystallized, you’ll know what they mean by crystallization!

But they don’t mention taste! Hmmm - that’s they key one!

You can find out more here.