Chocolate is good for you

Just remember, when reading any research about the health benefits of chocolate, they’re talking about chocolate chocolate, so the higher concentration the better. Dark chocolate contains way more cacao than milk chocolate, and white chocolate doesn’t even have any cacao.

Also, processing can destroy the flavonoids, and the more expensive the chocolate the more care was taken to process it so as to preserve the flavonoids. Thus, you’ll get a lot more benefit from an ounce of, say, Sharffen Berger than of Hershey’s Special Dark. Milk chocolate also requires far more processing, so that helps explain why studies always find it does not have the same benefits as dark.

The best chocolate for you is the kind that that has the least add-ins, too. Marshmallows, nougat, caramel and creams only add sugar calories; 200 calories worth of cream-filled bon bons obviously has a lot less chocolate than 200 calories worth of a high-quality bar. Add-ins such as nuts, spices, fruit bits, orange zest or chili are fine, since they add a lot of flavor and antioxidants of their own, without adding empty calories.

Through all of this, it must be said that chocolate is indeed a high-calorie, high-fat food. One ounce of the 82% cacao Sharffen Berger, for instance, has 140 calories and 11 grams of fat. However, of that fat, a third of it is the same heart-healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil; another third is a fairly health-neutral fat, and the last third is a heart-unhealthy saturated fat you do need to look out for. You won’t get into too much danger if you can limit yourself to just an ounce, a few times a week…and that is exactly the amount experts say is ideal to reap the benefits. Any more than that will simply add to your overall calorie intake, thereby increasing your weight and adding to your risks of all the diseases chocolate could otherwise help you avoid.

Source: deconstructingdelicious.com

Chocolate, The Food Of Love

Chocolate is a healthy food with aphrodisiac qualities. It is great for our heart in more than a romantic way. As chocolate is great for cleaning our blood vessels, and as we need a high rate of blood being pumped throughout our body when we exercise or make love, chocolate is the answer.
Chocolate tastes great and it is prepared in multiple forms, in such a way it is very difficult not finding the right taste and texture for us.

Chocolate is great for breakfast,, for Valentines Day, Mothers Day, for a romantic encounter, and it is awesome if we want to say I love you, or just to let somebody know we care. It is great for kids and adults alike.

There are so many presentations we should not have any problem finding the right one for every opportunity.
It is lovely to be given gourmet chocolate that you would not normally buy for yourself, but you could also include a jar of chocolate sauce, a tin of luxury hot chocolate or some chocolate cookies.
It is a well known fact that chocolate is the most famous desert known to men and women. There is no culture on planet earth without a great recipe we can enjoy for any ocassion. You are entitled to prepare, serve and enjoy the most gorgeous sweet treats on earth.

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the tree Theobroma cacao. Theobroma is Greek for 'food of the gods'. The ancient Aztecs venerated the cacao tree and used its beans as a form of currency. They saw the tree as a source of strength and wealth and assigned their god Quetzalcoatl its guardian.
Chocolate stimulates the release of endorphins, natural body hormones that generate feelings of pleasure and well-being. Chocolate contains a natural 'love drug'. Tryptophan is a chemical that the brain uses to make a neurotransmitter called serotonin. High levels of serotonin, produce feelings of elation, even ecstasy - hence the name of the designer drug that also works by increasing serotonin levels.

Scientist from California University published in 2001 the results of investigations conducted by them which suggests that comsumption of certain chocolates can modulate the synthesis of certain hormone-like compounds or cicosanoids which may help to maintain cardiovascular health by reducing blood vessel vulnerability and platelet clumping.

Fine chocolate is produced with the highest quality natural ingredients and each variety has its own distintic character which is carefully enhanced by the best cooks around the world.

As chocolate is made using the best cocoa beans, the final product contains many of the healthy compounds from plants, including minerals, like iron copper, zinc and magnesium and great antioxidants like polyphenols, like those found in tea and red wine, scientifically proven to be very healthy.

Besides being very tasty, chocolate is very important as part of healthy eating patterns. The variety of chocolates, like dark chocolate which is strong flavoured and less sweet which final flavour and quality depends on the appropriate mix and quality of chocolate beans as the manufacturing process itself.
Chocolate is considered by some as the food of gods. Chocolate history is fascinating. From the fisrst cocoa beans prized by the Aztecs to the production in Britain of the first known commercial chocolate bars, this history is fascinating and complex at the same time.

There are so many varieties of blends, that it is possible to find great books with mouth watering recipes which celebrate the intriguing history and culinary popularity of one of the most evocative world's treasures.

More than 3000 years ago the Mayans and Aztecs consumed chocolate. They used cocoa beans as currency. In 1502 on his fourth and last voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus came upon a canoe that was transporting agricultural products including cocoa beans. He seized the content of the canoe and brought cacao back to Spain. Chocolate became popular in Europe decades later when the Spaniards added sugar to the cacao.

Chocolate candy bars, after-dinner mints, brownies, truffles, doughnuts, chocolate milk-if it has chocolate in it, we eat it. Hot, cold, solid, liquid, over ice cream...even over meat?! Yes, a Mexican sauce called "mole" uses unsweetened chocolate in a sauce that is served over meat. It's a versatile flavor, chocolate. Chocolate has been blamed for acne and tooth decay, but research has found that it is innocent of these evils. That must have made lots of people worldwide sigh in relief: the chocolate industry sells five billion dollars worth of chocolate each year in the U.S. alone. The U.S. is only the eighth largest consumer of chocolate. Switzerland, whose citizens eat more than 21 pounds per person each year, leads the world in chocolate consumption.

Chocolate contains approximately 380 known chemicals, so it is no wonder it is difficult to figure out why chocolate is such a favorite treat. And who is to say that it is only one or two things in chocolate that cause us to feel happy? Many of the chemicals in chocolate are found in other foods, yet we do not buy heart-shaped bananas to show that special someone that we care for them. It may be a unique chemical combination that gives chocolate its edge over vanilla, berry, and caramel. Chocolate has been said to improve mood.

Chocolate is a great food, and a great treat for friends, loved ones, and a great companion for romantic encounters.

By Jose D Ramon Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/480174

Can Chocolate Benefit Your Health?

By Marguerite Bonneville

If you're a fan of chocolate you're in good company. Chocolate is one of the most popular sweet-tasting treats in the world and has been for centuries. But part of the myth surrounding chocolate is that it tastes so good it must be bad for your health. Which gives it an air of the forbidden.

A beautifully wrapped box of chocolates has always been considered a very romantic gift. So if the special person in your life is a self-confessed chocoholic, you know one surefire way to please them on special occasions. But the surprising news from the scientific community is that this reputedly decadent treat actually has some health benefits, especially if you choose your chocolate wisely.

Is Chocolate A Health Food?

Chocolate contains over 300 chemicals, and has been the subject of a number of studies by universities and other scientific organizations. Here's a quick rundown of the results. We have no way of proving or disproving these claims so we offer them here as a stimulus for further research. If you're really interested in the subject, this may provide you with a starting point.

* Cacao, the source of chocolate, contains antibacterial agents that fight tooth decay. Of course, this is counteracted by the high sugar content of milk chocolate.

* The smell of chocolate may increase theta brain waves, resulting in relaxation.

* Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine, a mild mood elevator.

* The cocoa butter in chocolate contains oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated fat which may raise good cholesterol.

* Drinking a cup of hot chocolate before meals may actually diminish appetite.

* Men who eat chocolate live a year longer than those who don't.

* The flavanoids in chocolate may help keep blood vessels elastic.

* Chocolate increases antioxidant levels in the blood.

* Mexican healers use chocolate to treat bronchitis and insect bites.

* The carbohydrates in chocolate raise serotonin levels in the brain, resulting in a sense of well-being.

What Chocolate Won't Do

There are many myths and half-truths about the effects of chocolate on the human body. Here are the latest findings on several of them.

* Studies show that chocolate is not a causative factor in acne.

* Cacao contains the stimulants caffeine and bromine, but in such small quantities that they don't cause nervous excitability.

* Chocolate is not addictive.

* Chocolate contains stearic acid, a neutral fat which doesn't raise bad cholesterol.

* Chocolate doesn't make you 'high'. You'd need to eat a huge quantity (about 25lbs at one sitting) to feel any noticeable effect.

But On The Negative Side...

1. Chocolate may trigger headaches in migraine sufferers.

2. Milk chocolate is high in calories, saturated fat and sugar.

What About Chocolate And Your Pets?

Chocolate is considered dangerous to animals because it contains a stimulant called theobromine, which they can't digest.

Dark chocolate and baking chocolate are even more dangerous because they contain higher concentrations of the substance. This applies whether chocolate is in candy bar form, or an ingredient in cake, cookies, puddings or ice cream.

If a pet becomes ill after eating chocolate, take it to the vet immediately.

Dark Chocolate Versus Milk Chocolate

Dark chocolate contains more cacao and less sugar than milk chocolate. It follows that any health benefits would be more pronounced in dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate is allowed on the popular Montaignac diet while milk chocolate is not.

You'll need to do a little research if you have any health concerns about eating chocolate. But with products like gluten-free and sugar-free brands finding their way onto supermarket shelves, you're sure to find some form of chocolate you can enjoy with a clear conscience.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/13062

The History of Mexican Chocolate

The cacao tree, which chocolate comes from, originated in Mesoamerica. Native Peoples used the cacao tree to produce a potent drink that is a far cry from the modern sweet incarnations of chocolate today. Historians disagree over where exactly in Mesoamerica the trees first appeared, but what they do agree on is that people first began to prepare cacao for human enjoyment in Mexico. Native Peoples used cacao beans to make drinks, as religious offerings, and they were even used as a from of currency. Nowadays, when people think of Mexican chocolate, they picture the cinnamon-scented variety commonly used in many Mexican style dishes and beverages.

The chocolate prepared in Mexico in pre-European Mexico possessed a strong, sour taste different from modern chocolate. It is well-known that Native Peoples prized this chocolate and used it in a variety of dishes and drinks. The first known large-scale "farmer" and consumers of chocolate were the Mayans, who inhabited Central Mexico.

The Aztecs, who rose to dominance after the Mayans, inherited the Mayan affinity for chocolate, which became even more culturally significant for them than it had for the Mayan people. Chocolate was a symbol of power and authority to the Aztecs, and people even used cacao beans as currency. The cacao beans were so valuable, that counterfeiting by filling cacao shells with clay was not uncommon.

The most popular use of the cacao bean in pre-European Mexico was to produce a chocolate drink. To make the drink, producers fermented, toasted, and ground the cacao bean into a powder which provided the drink's base. Often, people used different spices such as chiles, anise seed, allspice, and vanilla to add flavor. While this drink was a favorite among the rich, it was also religiously significant. The Aztecs gave the drink to human sacrifices to purify them. The Spanish also quickly developed a taste for chocolate not long after their arrival in Mexico. They then introduced it to Europe where a hot chocolate like drink became very popular.

Modern Mexican chocolate still retains many qualities of its predecessor. Makers still use some of the same spices as the Aztecs, as well as cinnamon and sugar to produce a chocolate with a unique flavor, texture, and aroma. It provides the base for hot chocolate beverages and serves as a key ingredient to several Mexican dishes such as Mole. Mexican chocolate is best recognized when sold in the form of small solid discs. The Spanish began the practice of storing chocolate in the shape of discs in the 1500s, and it continues to today. The modern world owes thanks to Mexico's long history with chocolate for providing one of the world's favorite treats.

For more history and to get some traditional recipes, visit

http://www.mexicanhotchocolaterecipe.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emory_R._David

Fri's most expensive chocolate in the world

After diamonds, chocolate is the best friend of every woman. Maybe you will make it a "cheap friendship", but not the administration. Premium chocolates made ​​by the top chocolate with excellent ingredients and a price that goes with it all. The chocolate may not be as expensive diamonds, but they are not eternal. Payments you, evaluate yourself.


Chocopologie

Chocolate dessert is the most expensive in the world. It is a real company Knipschildt, and a pound costs $ 2600. Made of 70 percent Valrhona chocolate and heavy cream and 24 hours soaked in pure vanilla and truffle oil. Cocoa powder is added manually.

Noka

Noka true best dark chocolate, thanks to the selection of the best cocoa from plantations in Venezuela, Côte d'Ivoire, Trinidad and Ecuador. It consists of 75% cocoa and other ingredients such as cocoa butter, etc. What is special about this chocolate is that it does not add any additives or vanilla flavor. The taste is 100% authentic. Products is Noka Vintages Collection, and costs $ 854 for a pound.

DeLafée

For those who prefer to eat chocolate gold DeLafée is the right choice. Instead of real chocolate with hazelnuts or almonds, for every ball manually add the right edible 24-carat gold. Among the other ingredients in chocolate has sugar, coconut oil, cocoa butter, milk powder and vanilla. Delfee first Swiss chocolate and a pound costs $ 504.

Richart

Richart chocolate is perhaps the fourth most expensive chocolate in the world, but is made from 70% Criollo cocoa from Venezuela, which are considered the best quality cocoa for chocolate in the world. Cocoa beans are finely divided so as to give a unique taste of chocolate. Richart chocolate is added to most types of almonds, blackberries, strawberries and lots of exotic spices. Richart is produced in France, for $ 120 you get a pound of chocolate.

Godiva G

The famous Belgian chocolate Godiva, recently presented a "G" collection. Chocolates are made from different ingredients, such as a mixture with 100% cocoa butter, Tasmanian honey and Mexican hot chocolate. Godiva G Collection is the cheapest. It cost "only" $ 177 for a pound.

Chocolate for Medicine

You may be delighted to hear about the health benefits of treating yourself to some chocolate. Its botanic name theobroma cacao translated means "Food of the Gods". This delicious food came to the European continent in the 16th century, as one of the valuable discoveries which came with the exploration of America. The Aztecs enjoyed chocolate several hundred years earlier and knew some of their medicinal properties, and used the ground cocoa bean to make a bitter drink, often mixed with chilli, particularly for use at ceremonial times. Chocolate drink became fashionable in the Victorian years, and the invention of the process to make milk chocolate paved the way to it becoming widely popular as a favourite drink, dessert or treat.

In the UK more than 500 000 tons of chocolate are consumed per year (1). In 2001 the UK consumption of chocolate was 17.40 lbs or a bit more than 7.89 kg per person per year. However, this is only 7th place world wide. In the lead is Switzerland with 22.36 lbs or 10.55 kg chocolate consumed per capita every year.

As chocolate products contain high amounts of fat (typically 30%) they are usually high in energy, which promotes weight gain. One pound of milk chocolate has about 2300 calories which is about the daily energy requirement of an average adult.

Many positive health effects of eating chocolate have been reported.

The Journal of Nutrition 2000: 130: 2115-2119 reported dark chocolate consumption associated with reducing free radical levels in the human body, thought to be due to antioxidants in dark chocolate. The more chocolate a person ate the more significant was the effect. Reduction in free radicals has been associated with reduction in cardio-vascular disease, cancer and cellular aging.

An anti-inflammatory effect has been described in several studies (ARYA Journal 2005; 1 (1): 29-35).

Chocolate as treatment against diarrhea has been known in South America as well as Europe and makes it for many an enjoyable treatment.

Theobromine in the cacao has been reported as helping against fatigue, and researchers have shown a positive effect of chocolate on the release of endorphins - 'happy hormones'. The Journal of Public Health Nutrition published an article in 1999 demonstrating a positive effect of chocolate on improving peoples mood, and stimulating release of serotonin and endorphins. This may have inspired J. K. Rowling to use chocolate as a remedy against dementor attacks!

In 2006 the Archives of Internal Medicine published a study of chocolate consumption in elderly men demonstrating a lowering effect on blood pressure.

Just recently, an Australian study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2010 has found that women eating chocolate at least once a week had significantly lower risk of suffering from ischemic heart disease including heart attacks, heart failure or other health problems related to arteriosclerosis. The women in the study ate about 1.5 grams of cocoa a day. As this is not the first time cardio-vascular benefits associated with chocolate consumption have been reported further studies may well follow and no shortage of participants is expected. Who would not accept suffering eating chocolate to aid scientific discoveries?

So chocolate may not need to be a guilty pleasure after all - in moderation it may prove not just good for the soul, but good for the body, too!


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=K_S_Wuest
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6030733

Is Chocolate That Healthy?

It is great news that research has found a food that lowers blood pressure and is healthy for the heart and maybe more. The problem is that the chocolate Americans consume most is not the kind that was studied. The more popular kinds of chocolate have little or no positive effect on your health. Only certain chocolate may be healthy.

Dark chocolate is the chocolate that was found to have positive effects on blood pressure. Participants, either given dark, milk, or white chocolate every day were evaluated in different studies. It turns out that dark chocolate contains important antioxidants called phenols. These natural compounds from the cocoa bean are known to increase nitric oxide, reduce platelet aggregation, and inhibit oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Cocoa can decrease blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and increase your insulin sensitivity. Milk and white chocolate are low in these antioxidants and do not have the same effect.

The problem is how chocolate is processed in this country. White chocolate, regardless of where you get it, actually contains no cocoa at all and is made only from cocoa butter; just the fat from the cocoa beans. It also contains no phenols. Most of the other chocolate we eat is made with "dutched" cocoa. The cocoa beans are treated with an alkaline solution to make them dark in color and reduce the natural bitterness from the plant. But it also reduces almost 90% of the phenols and most of its healthy benefits. The other problem is that when made into milk chocolate, the milk seems to prevent the phenols from being absorbed and, thus, negating any possible benefit from the chocolate.

The best chocolate for your health appears to be dark chocolate. In the European studies done, participants ate 100gm of chocolate a day (100 grams equals approx. 3.5 ounces). This is the equivalent to 2 1/2 regular size Hershey's bars. It also added about 550 calories to their diet. They were instructed to substitute this amount of calories from other foods they normally ate each day. You would have to do the same or forego its healthy benefits by increasing your waistline. European chocolate in general is healthier than that found in America due to the fact that it is less processed than ours and contains more of the heart healthy antioxidants. Dark chocolate is an acquired taste for most Americans since it is much more bitter than its milky counterpart.

So why is this research being touted as the 'best medical news in ages'? It appears to be one more way we look to justify the unhealthy diets we follow. When people hear that chocolate is now healthy, they don't hear any of the other restrictions involved, and don't want to. In fact, most people wouldn't want to change to a more bitter tasting chocolate and also cut out over 500 calories from their diets as they did in the studies. Our diets already have enough sweets and this type of news only fuels the diabetic and obesity epidemics. This kind of medical news will only make most people add extra calories to their diets and increase their health problems.

These studies do look promising but there still is no information on how long these benefits last, how many phenols need to be eaten or how often. Stick with the darkest chocolate, if you must, and balance out your calories. Until we have more information, chocolate should remain a treat and not a treatment.

Gerald Meyer is a registered pharmacist and provides advice on the many weight loss programs available today. More information on the benefits of green tea and its antioxidant powers can be found at http://www.natural-weight-loss-programs.com/greentea.htm . Free trials of green tea patches and instant beverages are available while supplies last. Find out the benefit of green tea for yourself today. And, learn more about the new superfood – the amazon super berry – acai. Acai may be the most nutritious and powerful food in the world. MonaVie is the next generation of health food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerald_Meyer

Chocolate: Good News or Bad News? You Decide!

What puts chocolate on the list of health enhancing, anti-aging foods is its' high content of powerful antioxidant compounds called flavonoids. Other flavonoid-rich foods are tea, berries, grapes, apples and many of the other color filled fruits and vegetables.

The flavonoids in chocolate are called flavonols and have been shown to be helpful in lowering blood pressure, diminishing fatty plaques in arteries, and lowering clot formation by making blood platelets not so sticky. Most people know that the darker the chocolate, the higher the flavonol content. The brain lifting compounds in chocolate are theobromine, caffeine, tyramine, and phenylethylamine (PEA). Additionally, tryptophan and anandamide are soothing and relaxing to the brain and promote the feeling of well-being.

How can you not love chocolate when it gives you a dose of energy, clears your foggy brain, soothes your anxiety and dampens your pain all the while keeping your healthy cells healthy and blood flowing smoothly for fewer negative cardiovascular events? Well, that's the good news-and now, the bad news..... Even though there have been 2 large epidemiological studies showing the benefits of chocolate consumption specifically on lowering carotid artery plaques, blood pressure and other vascular problems, these studies were not well designed for clear and specific correlation about cause and effect from chocolate. Other flavonoid rich foods were being consumed simultaneously and chocolate contains additional health benefitting nutrients that obviously were not isolated from the flavonols. Because chocolate has such a brain energizing effect, individuals with any chronic fatigue syndrome or adrenal exhaustion will be particularly drawn to consuming it, but cocoa, in addition to other caffeine containing stimulants should actually be avoided in this case.

The same PEA in chocolate that lifts brain energy also creates a transient rise in blood pressure and blood sugar which is followed by a not good for you low blood sugar episode. If you have any kind of persistent or recurring fatigue issues, you need to support and nourish your brain to allow it to heal, avoid high glycemic reaction foods like chocolate and take in more energy sustaining proteins. Other conditions that can involve poor brain endurance and fatigue and should omit chocolate include Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Closed Head Injuries and even Post Polio Syndrome. Chocolate has been placed on the list of offending foods by many different researchers involved with migraines headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, joint degeneration, skin problems such as rosacea and mood disorders. Chocolate is also high in oxalates and most people who have suffered from kidney stones should be on a low oxalate diet which means no chocolate. Oxalates are also famous for binding calcium which prevents its absorption and a diet high in oxalates is not recommended for anyone trying to maintain or improve their bone density. If you have any bladder irritation or particularly have been diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis (IC), chocolate should definitely be off of your grocery list. Anecdotally, there are groups of people who comment that chocolate weakens their immune system. They notice that they get sick soon after consuming even a small amount of it. Despite chocolate truly having a high ORAC value (high antioxidant power), this healthy cell preserving ability is greatly diminished from processing, which is why it is best to eat high percentage pure dark chocolate and even better cacao in its raw form. Most of the chocolate consumed in the US is highly processed and can even include health stripping preservatives. It is pretty clear that chocolate does contain compounds that are health promoting, even the pharmaceutical companies are trying to isolate them, however, any benefits from flavonoids are totally drowned out when chocolate comes in the form of cake, caramel, ice cream, corn syrup and gooey candy bars. These foods do not count as healthy chocolate products.

So, you can hear the good part about chocolate, it is real, however, I'm hoping you can hear the negative aspects about chocolate as well and that it may not be a healthy food choice for you depending on the status of your health.

Where are you on the continuum of reaction to chocolate, is it good for you or is it bad for you?

Visit www.sheilawagner.com You decide!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sheila_Wagner Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5957741