Dark Chocolate
Dark Chocolate is fine in moderation. Watch your portion size, especially during a flare. A typical 40 g serving has about 10 mg of purines, about 3% of a ~400 mg working daily target.
General information, not a substitute for advice from your doctor or dietitian.
Low in purines, but ultra-processed. Ultra-processed foods are linked to higher gout risk on their own, so we do not rate this as safe to eat freely. (UK Biobank 2024)
This purine value is inferred, not measured directly for this food. See the sources note below for how it was derived.
How much can I eat?
Added fructose raises uric acid on its own, so keep sugary foods and drinks small.
How we count fructose
This is the fructose, not the total sugar: it counts free fructose plus half of sucrose, so a sucrose-sweetened product carries roughly twice this much sugar overall.
Evidence: Ayoub-Charette et al., J Nutr 2021 (fructose by food source) · White et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2018 (whole apple vs. a fructose drink, matched dose)
Even a large serving stays well under a day's purines.
These are plant purines, which research links far more weakly to flares: the 10 mg here counts as roughly 3 mg toward your gout risk.
Portion size is what matters most here, and it’s easy to misjudge by eye. A kitchen scale makes it simple.
Shop a kitchen scale on AmazonHi, I'm Oliver. I built GoutSafe for us gouties, and links like this help cover the hosting, at no extra cost to you.
Buying it packaged? GoutMarket, GoutSafe's sister site, grades 14 store-bought products of this kind from their ingredient labels, using this page's purine data.
Compare the 14 on GoutMarketWhy grade C: per 100 g and processing
Per 100 g (for comparison)
Low for gout (< 50 mg/100g).
High for gout (8–15 g/100g).
Processing: NOVA 4 of 4. How processing affects the grade.
Diet is part of the picture, not all of it
For most people the body makes the majority of its own uric acid. Food contributes the smaller share. Eating well lowers your risk and helps you feel in control, but for many people diet alone does not bring uric acid down enough to stop flares. Medication often does the heavy lifting. Use these grades to make easier daily choices, and work with your doctor on the full plan.
Other forms of chocolate
The most common form of chocolate is first.
How did dark chocolate go for you?
Reader experiences, not medical advice. The grade above comes from published data.