DOES HOT CHOCOLATE HAVE CAFFEINE?
Everywhere in the world, hot chocolate is consumed especially in the cold weather. It is usually taken as comfort food. It is majorly melted chocolate, but you can add some toppings to yours to spice it, toppings like marshmallow, whipped cream, or cheese.
Does hot chocolate have caffeine? Yes is the simple answer. Like coffee, tea, and soda, hot chocolate contains caffeine. Read on to find out just how much caffeine can be found in hot chocolate.
WHAT IS CAFFEINE?
Caffeine is popular for its ability to keep people awake while they go about their jobs or studies.
Caffeine is a natural stimulant found mostly in coffee, although it is also found in your regular soda drinks. It is used as an energy boost.
Caffeine increases adrenaline levels in your blood, which stimulates your brain to improve your alertness and energy levels. That is why you can stay awake all night working or reading with just a cup of hot chocolate or coffee by the side.
Caffeine prevents your brain cells from signaling your fatigue so you feel energetic to carry on with your activity.
Caffeine taken in just the right amount has no dangerous impact on your health, but when it becomes a habit to consume caffeine every day, hence increasing the amount of caffeine in your blood, then you may be faced with some health challenges.
In fact, caffeine in the right amount in your bloodstream may boost the body’s metabolism and promote fat loss.
On the other hand, too much caffeine may promote headaches, migraine, increase your blood pressure, and can interact with some medications, making them non-potent or less potent.
Some adverse effects of taking too much caffeine are: Restlessness, insomnia, anxiety and increased risk of a miscarriage in pregnant women.
Does Hot Chocolate Have Caffeine
How much caffeine is found in hot chocolate? The amount of caffeine found in hot chocolate is only minimal, so you don’t have to worry about the adverse effect of caffeine that has been mentioned.
A cup of hot chocolate can have only 5mg of caffeine.
Depending on how you make your hot chocolate, the amount of caffeine can vary. Packaged hot chocolate mix you buy from the supermarket can have more caffeine than the hot chocolate you make from scratch when you use cocoa powder diluted in water or warm milk.
It will help to compare the caffeine quantity of hot chocolate with that of tea, soda, and coffee, so we can understand just how much caffeine content can be found in hot chocolate.
TEA VS HOT CHOCOLATE
There are different types of teas and the amount of caffeine in tea depends on the type of tea you are drinking. For instance;
A cup of Green tea will contain 25-29 mg of caffeine.
A cup of Black tea will contain 25-48 mg of caffeine.
Chai tea will contain 31-45 mg of caffeine per cup.
Herbal tea contains no caffeine.
SODA VS HOT CHOCOLATE
Did you know most of your regular soft drinks are high in caffeine?
Check this out;
- Pepsi contains 63 mg of caffeine per serving
- Coca-Cola contains between 56-57 mg of caffeine
- Mountain dew has 91 mg of caffeine content.
- Sprite, however, has no caffeine.
This information is for both the sugar-free, diet and regular soda.
Does Hot Chocolate Have Caffeine: COFFEE VS HOT CHOCOLATE
It is not a hidden fact that coffee is rich in caffeine, how much, now depends on the type of coffee you consume.
Here is a list of some famous coffee types and the amount of caffeine that can be found in them:
— A cup of Decaf coffee may contain 2 mg of caffeine
— Black coffee has about 95 mg of caffeine
—Espresso coffee contains 63 mg of caffeine
—Latte/mocha contains between 63-126 mg of caffeine
— Instant coffee usually had 63 mg of caffeine.
Following the comparison made, it is obvious that coffee has more caffeine content. Although it will be a more healthy decision if you want to replace your coffee with hot chocolate, you shouldn’t expect to have the same energetic and stay-awake effect coffee has on you when you take hot chocolate. However, hot chocolate has its effects health-wise.
BENEFITS OF HOT CHOCOLATE
1. Hot chocolate contains antioxidants that can help reduce your risk of developing heart disease or stroke. It also has cancer-fighting antioxidants, so your risk of having cancer is also reduced.
2. It helps to lower blood pressure. The major constituent of hot chocolate -cocoa, is made up of a chemical called flavonoids. This chemical helps to improve blood flow and also protects the walls of the blood vessels from free radical damage.
3. As compared to coffee, hot chocolate is rich in vitamins(B12, B2, D, A), zinc, iron, phosphorus, and copper.
4. Helps to fight against stress, anxiety, and depression.
5. It has anti-inflammatory properties. Extracts of cocoa contain anti-asthmatic components like theobromine and theophylline.
It can also help the immune system in fighting against bacteria that cause cavities in the teeth and also promotes healthy skin by improving blood circulation.
CONCLUSION
Only a minimum of 5mg of caffeine is found in a cup of hot chocolate, so yes, hot chocolate does have caffeine in it, but alongside some really good vitamins and chemicals that help to improve health.
Replacing your daily coffee with a cup of hot chocolate, especially after a stressful day, helps to calm your nerves and you are not at risk of pumping so much caffeine into your system.