Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
bittersweet chocolate
versus
kale
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in bittersweet chocolate and kale:
Bittersweet chocolate is high in calories and kale has 95% less calories than bittersweet chocolate - bittersweet chocolate has 642 calories per 100 grams and kale has 35 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, bittersweet chocolate is lighter in protein, much lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to kale per calorie. Bittersweet chocolate has a macronutrient ratio of 9:18:73 and for kale, 28:41:31 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
Bittersweet Chocolate | Kale | |
---|---|---|
Protein | 9% | 28% |
Carbohydrates | 18% | 41% |
Fat | 73% | 31% |
Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Kale has signficantly less carbohydrates than bittersweet chocolate - bittersweet chocolate has 28.4g of total carbs per 100 grams and kale has 4.4g of carbohydrates.
Both bittersweet chocolate and kale are high in dietary fiber. Bittersweet chocolate has 305% more dietary fiber than kale - bittersweet chocolate has 16.6g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and kale has 4.1g of dietary fiber.
Bittersweet chocolate and kale contain similar amounts of sugar - bittersweet chocolate has 0.91g of sugar per 100 grams and kale has 0.99g of sugar.
Bittersweet chocolate is an excellent source of protein and it has 390% more protein than kale - bittersweet chocolate has 14.3g of protein per 100 grams and kale has 2.9g of protein.
Bittersweet chocolate is high in saturated fat and kale has 99% less saturated fat than bittersweet chocolate - bittersweet chocolate has 32.3g of saturated fat per 100 grams and kale has 0.18g of saturated fat.
Both bittersweet chocolate and kale are low in cholesterol - bittersweet chocolate has 2mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and kale does not contain significant amounts.
Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin C and it has more Vitamin C than bittersweet chocolate - kale has 93.4mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and bittersweet chocolate does not contain significant amounts.
Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has more Vitamin A than bittersweet chocolate - kale has 241ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and bittersweet chocolate does not contain significant amounts.
Bittersweet chocolate and kale contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - bittersweet chocolate has 0.4mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and kale has 0.66mg of Vitamin E.
Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin K and it has 39 times more Vitamin K than bittersweet chocolate - bittersweet chocolate has 9.7ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and kale has 389.6ug of Vitamin K.
Kale has more riboflavin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and folate. Both bittersweet chocolate and kale contain significant amounts of thiamin and niacin.
Bittersweet Chocolate | Kale | |
---|---|---|
Thiamin | 0.147 MG | 0.113 MG |
Riboflavin | 0.1 MG | 0.347 MG |
Niacin | 1.355 MG | 1.18 MG |
Pantothenic acid | 0.168 MG | 0.37 MG |
Vitamin B6 | 0.027 MG | 0.147 MG |
Folate | 28 UG | 62 UG |
Both bittersweet chocolate and kale are high in calcium. Kale has 151% more calcium than bittersweet chocolate - bittersweet chocolate has 101mg of calcium per 100 grams and kale has 254mg of calcium.
Bittersweet chocolate is an excellent source of iron and it has 988% more iron than kale - bittersweet chocolate has 17.4mg of iron per 100 grams and kale has 1.6mg of iron.
Both bittersweet chocolate and kale are high in potassium. Bittersweet chocolate has 139% more potassium than kale - bittersweet chocolate has 830mg of potassium per 100 grams and kale has 348mg of potassium.
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids,
Bittersweet Chocolate | Kale | |
---|---|---|
lutein + zeaxanthin | 38 UG | 6261 UG |
beta-carotene | ~ | 2873 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, kale has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than bittersweet chocolate per 100 grams.
Bittersweet Chocolate | Kale | |
---|---|---|
alpha linoleic acid | 0.117 G | 0.378 G |
Total | 0.117 G | 0.378 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, bittersweet chocolate has more linoleic acid than kale per 100 grams.
Bittersweet Chocolate | Kale | |
---|---|---|
other omega 6 | ~ | 0.003 G |
linoleic acid | 1.435 G | 0.291 G |
Total | 1.435 G | 0.294 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Bittersweet Chocolate (Baking chocolate, unsweetened, squares) and Kale (Kale, raw) .
Bittersweet Chocolate g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Kale g
()
|
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
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5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
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5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
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5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
UG % |
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5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
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5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
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5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
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5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
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5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||