Choose dark chocolate for its flavour as an optional treat, not as the main food for fuelling a long run or race. The UK Sports Institute names compact carbohydrate foods and sports drinks as options before and during exercise; for chocolate, compare the exact bar’s carbohydrate, fat, ingredients and allergens rather than treating a higher cocoa percentage as a fuelling advantage.
If you are choosing what to carry or eat before a long run, separate your fuelling plan from a preference for chocolate. The UK Sports Institute gives compact carbohydrate foods and sports drinks as examples for before and during exercise.
If you enjoy dark chocolate outside a session, choose by flavour and the exact nutrition label. Lindt’s listed 70% and 85% bars differ in carbohydrate and fat per 100 g, so cocoa percentage alone does not describe what you are buying.
Check the current ingredients and precautionary allergen wording for the particular bar. Lindt says its 85% bar is made to a vegan recipe but is not suitable for people with milk allergy.
Decide first whether the food is for a run or for an ordinary snack. Then compare chocolate bars by their exact labels, not cocoa percentage alone.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Run fuelling | For food or drink before or during exercise, consider the compact carbohydrate options named by the UK Sports Institute, including dried fruit, oat bars, jam sandwiches and sports drinks. Try your chosen products and timing in training. | For a long run or race, I need a planned fuelling option rather than choosing chocolate because it has a high cocoa percentage. |
| Cocoa and nutrition | Compare carbohydrate and fat on the exact bar’s label using the same per 100 g basis. Lindt lists 34 g carbohydrate and 41 g fat for its EXCELLENCE 70% bar, versus 22 g carbohydrate and 46 g fat for its 85% bar. | I can choose the cocoa intensity I enjoy for a treat while checking what the particular bar contains; the Lindt figures do not establish how every 70% or 85% bar compares. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the current ingredients, emphasised allergens and any precautionary allergen statement. Check filled or flavoured products individually rather than applying a plain bar’s details to them. | If an allergy affects my choice, I need the information for the exact product. A dark label or vegan-recipe description is not enough to establish milk-allergy suitability. |
Cocoa percentage describes the bar; it does not establish its suitability as a main carbohydrate source during a run. The UK Sports Institute instead gives compact carbohydrate foods and sports drinks as before- and during-exercise examples.
Plan run fuelling around foods or drinks you have tried in training, and choose dark chocolate separately if you want a treat.
Lindt lists 22 g carbohydrate and 46 g fat per 100 g for its 85% bar, compared with 34 g carbohydrate and 41 g fat for its 70% bar. Those figures describe these two products, not every dark bar.
Choose cocoa percentage for the flavour you prefer, then read the exact nutrition panel for the eating occasion you have in mind.
A dark or vegan-recipe bar can still carry an allergen warning. Filled and flavoured products may also contain ingredients absent from a plain bar.
Check the current pack’s ingredients and precautionary allergen statement, particularly when milk, nuts or another allergen matters to you.
These ranges illustrate cocoa levels and formats to compare; a brand’s wider range does not determine the ingredients or nutrition of an individual bar.
The EXCELLENCE range lists dark bars at several cocoa percentages, including 70% and 85%.
Divine lists a plain 70% dark chocolate bar alongside other dark varieties.
The dark range includes a FitzRoy Organic 74% bar, 100% cocoa products and buttons.
The dark range lists 70%, 80% and 85% products in formats including batons, slabs and selectors.
M&S lists a Fairtrade 85% dark chocolate bar as well as other dark products.
Green & Black’s lists a 70% dark chocolate 90 g bar.
These bars are options for choosing dark chocolate by cocoa percentage, flavour and format as an occasional treat. They are not a selection of main long-run fuels.
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A 70% dark bar to consider for an ordinary snack rather than as your main long-run fuel. Check the current pack if milk or nuts are relevant allergens.
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Consider this 85% bar if you prefer a higher-cocoa chocolate as a treat, not as a substitute for planned run fuelling. Check the current pack if milk or nuts are relevant allergens.
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This 85% bar is an option for a higher-cocoa treat. Compare the pack’s nutrition information for the portion you intend to eat, and check its allergen wording before choosing it.
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A 72% cocoa option if that intensity appeals to you for a treat. Read the current ingredients and allergen statement, particularly if soya, milk, nuts, peanuts or gluten-containing cereals matter to you.
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Choose this bar for its raspberry inclusion if you want a flavoured chocolate treat rather than a plain bar or main run fuel. The product information gives conflicting vegan-friendly and milk wording, so check the current pack rather than relying on the vegan description; also check for gluten and nut warnings.
No: choose and practise a separate carbohydrate-fuelling plan for the run. The UK Sports Institute gives compact carbohydrate foods, including dried fruit and oat bars, and sports drinks as options before and during exercise. Dark chocolate can remain an optional treat rather than replacing that plan.
Choose the cocoa level primarily by flavour, and compare exact labels if carbohydrate content matters to your snack choice. Lindt lists 34 g carbohydrate and 41 g fat per 100 g for its 70% bar, against 22 g carbohydrate and 46 g fat for its 85% bar; that product comparison does not make either bar a proven long-run fuel.
Do not assume so. Lindt says its 85% bar is made to a vegan recipe but is not suitable for people with milk allergy because it is made in a facility using milk. Check the current pack of the specific bar before choosing it.
Check the exact product’s ingredients, nutrition information, emphasised allergens and any precautionary allergen statement. The Food Standards Agency says prepacked-for-direct-sale food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must have a full ingredients list with allergenic ingredients emphasised; use the current pack because recipes and labels can change.
No. Fruit, nuts and other additions can change the ingredients and allergen considerations. Compare the nutrition and ingredient information for each exact product, even when the bars have the same stated cocoa percentage.