Art Vine asked:
Chocolate – real chocolate that is – is now recognised as having many qualities that can be beneficial for your health. By ‘real chocolate’ I mean chocolate containing Cocoa, Sugar, Milk Solids, Vanilla, Lethicin and nothing else.
THE UPSIDE OF CHOCOLATE!
Chocolate contains high levels of beneficial chemicals and antidioxants such as Seratonin, Phenylethylaminea, Pentamer and flavonoids. It is also high in essential trace elements, minerals and vitamins such as iron, calcium, potassium, vitamins A. B1, C, D, and E as well as many nutrients. Cocoa powder is also the highest known natural source of Magnesium.
Because it contains Seratonin and Phenylethylamine, chocolate can be good for mental health. These substances are ‘mood lifting’ agents which are released naturally into our system by the human brain when we are feeling happy or in love. Eating chocolate also releases Seratonin and Phenylethylamine into the system, thus (as all chocoholics know), when we are feeling down or depressed chocolate can provide a ‘lift’, instantly improving our mental state.
Studies indicate that a chemical found in chocolate called Pentamer help can protect against cancer.
Chocolate is very high in anidioxants in the form of flavanoids Also found in lesser amounts in tea, fruit and red wine, studies indicate they protect the heart and arteries from damage by free radicals.
Magnesium deficiency is linked with hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, joint problems and pre-menstrual problems, otherwise known as PMT or PMS. This condition is caused by a pre-menstrual drop in progesterone levels and it’s this which precipitates the violent mood swings familiar to so many women (and their families). Adding magnesium to the diet has been proved to increase pre-menstrual progesterone levels, helping to reduce or even eliminate the problem.
There are benefits for men too, as well as the high Magnesium and flavanoids content which are beneficial for the heart, arteries and hypertension, studies indicate that the cocoa butter in high quality chocolate, although technically a ’saturated fat’, does not fur up the arteries or contribute to high cholesterol levels.
Chocolate is an unsurpassed nutritional source, providing high levels of vitamins, minerals and nutrients, a single chocolate chip can provide enough energy for the average man to walk about 170′ or 50m. Napoleon carried chocolate with him on his campaigns and today most armies provide chocolate in daily ration packs for soldiers in the field. For over 100 years the British, army have issued soldiers with emergency or ‘Iron Rations’ of chocolate, containing very high levels of cocoa (80%+), for use in emergencies. Each ‘iron ration’ of 8oz’s – 227g of chocolate can not only provide enough nutrition to keep a soldier going for 7 days or more, it also helps keep up moral in difficult circumstances.
STOP PRESS Nov, 06: Results of a study by Johns Hopkins University indicate that chocolate acts in a similar way to Aspirin in effectively preventing blood clots in the arteries, reducing the likelihood of heart attacks.
THE DOWN SIDE OF CHOCOLATE!
They say “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” and chocolate, like all good things in life, has it’s problems too. It contains sugar and fat in the form of chocolate butter and eating too much of either will cause health problems. As a result, chocolate has developed an undeserved reputation for being unhealthy.
But, although recognised as being addictive to many people, particularly to Women, chocolate itself is not really the cause of the major health problems it’s been associated with.
These problems are caused by the simple fact that many chocoholics choose to satisfy their chocolate cravings in the unhealthiest way possible, by buying heavily advertised, mass produced, brand name, milk and white chocolates.
These products are generally very low in chocolate solids (ave less than 20%) and very, very high in sugar and saturated fats. The beneficial cocoa butter has usually been replaced with Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (HVO’s), and there’s no question that HVO’s are catastrophically ruinous for your health. To make matters worse, because of the very low chocolate content, chocoholics have to eat 3 or 4 times more of this type of product to satisfy a craving for chocolate.
Filled chocolates, both the commercial variety and, sadly, many
Chocolate – real chocolate that is – is now recognised as having many qualities that can be beneficial for your health. By ‘real chocolate’ I mean chocolate containing Cocoa, Sugar, Milk Solids, Vanilla, Lethicin and nothing else.
THE UPSIDE OF CHOCOLATE!
Chocolate contains high levels of beneficial chemicals and antidioxants such as Seratonin, Phenylethylaminea, Pentamer and flavonoids. It is also high in essential trace elements, minerals and vitamins such as iron, calcium, potassium, vitamins A. B1, C, D, and E as well as many nutrients. Cocoa powder is also the highest known natural source of Magnesium.
Because it contains Seratonin and Phenylethylamine, chocolate can be good for mental health. These substances are ‘mood lifting’ agents which are released naturally into our system by the human brain when we are feeling happy or in love. Eating chocolate also releases Seratonin and Phenylethylamine into the system, thus (as all chocoholics know), when we are feeling down or depressed chocolate can provide a ‘lift’, instantly improving our mental state.
Studies indicate that a chemical found in chocolate called Pentamer help can protect against cancer.
Chocolate is very high in anidioxants in the form of flavanoids Also found in lesser amounts in tea, fruit and red wine, studies indicate they protect the heart and arteries from damage by free radicals.
Magnesium deficiency is linked with hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, joint problems and pre-menstrual problems, otherwise known as PMT or PMS. This condition is caused by a pre-menstrual drop in progesterone levels and it’s this which precipitates the violent mood swings familiar to so many women (and their families). Adding magnesium to the diet has been proved to increase pre-menstrual progesterone levels, helping to reduce or even eliminate the problem.
There are benefits for men too, as well as the high Magnesium and flavanoids content which are beneficial for the heart, arteries and hypertension, studies indicate that the cocoa butter in high quality chocolate, although technically a ’saturated fat’, does not fur up the arteries or contribute to high cholesterol levels.
Chocolate is an unsurpassed nutritional source, providing high levels of vitamins, minerals and nutrients, a single chocolate chip can provide enough energy for the average man to walk about 170′ or 50m. Napoleon carried chocolate with him on his campaigns and today most armies provide chocolate in daily ration packs for soldiers in the field. For over 100 years the British, army have issued soldiers with emergency or ‘Iron Rations’ of chocolate, containing very high levels of cocoa (80%+), for use in emergencies. Each ‘iron ration’ of 8oz’s – 227g of chocolate can not only provide enough nutrition to keep a soldier going for 7 days or more, it also helps keep up moral in difficult circumstances.
STOP PRESS Nov, 06: Results of a study by Johns Hopkins University indicate that chocolate acts in a similar way to Aspirin in effectively preventing blood clots in the arteries, reducing the likelihood of heart attacks.
THE DOWN SIDE OF CHOCOLATE!
They say “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” and chocolate, like all good things in life, has it’s problems too. It contains sugar and fat in the form of chocolate butter and eating too much of either will cause health problems. As a result, chocolate has developed an undeserved reputation for being unhealthy.
But, although recognised as being addictive to many people, particularly to Women, chocolate itself is not really the cause of the major health problems it’s been associated with.
These problems are caused by the simple fact that many chocoholics choose to satisfy their chocolate cravings in the unhealthiest way possible, by buying heavily advertised, mass produced, brand name, milk and white chocolates.
These products are generally very low in chocolate solids (ave less than 20%) and very, very high in sugar and saturated fats. The beneficial cocoa butter has usually been replaced with Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (HVO’s), and there’s no question that HVO’s are catastrophically ruinous for your health. To make matters worse, because of the very low chocolate content, chocoholics have to eat 3 or 4 times more of this type of product to satisfy a craving for chocolate.
Filled chocolates, both the commercial variety and, sadly, many