How Chocolate is Made?
You may be surprised, but
in a way chocolate really does grow on trees! Cocoa beans come from the fruit
of the cacao tree which grows in tropical rainforests in South America, Africa,
and Malaysia. The official scientific name of the cocoa tree is Theobroma
Cacao. "Theobroma" is Latin for "food of the gods". Cacao
is pronounced "ka-COW". The words "cacao" and the more
commonly used term "cocoa" both refer to the cacao bean, the seed of
the Theobroma Cacao fruit.
Strictly speaking, cocoa
or cacao is a nut, the seed of a fruit, but is most commonly called cocoa beans,
cocoa seeds, cocoa nuts, chocolate seeds, or chocolate beans. Commercial cocoa
growers and processors refer to the dried cocoa beans as cocoa nibs. The term cacao
often refers to the beans before they are fermented and dried.
Chocolate is manufactured
from cocoa mass, the base product produced by processing the cocoa/cacao beans
or nibs by fermenting and then roasting them to produce a liquid called chocolate
liquor, which is very "thick" or viscous. The chocolate liquor can be
molded and hardened into the bitter chocolate known as unsweetened baking
chocolate. Those who like its bitter taste of this sugar-free dark chocolate enjoy
the healthiest type of the chocolate.
Which Chocolate is the Best?
Which chocolate is the
tastiest, depends totally from your personal perception, but remember that not
all chocolates are created equal in terms of the health benefits. Processing
destroys many of the natural flavonoids present in cocoa beans, and chocolate
products that have been alkalized have been almost entirely depleted of their
natural goodness. It's really only dark chocolate, high in cocoa content, that
seems to be of benefit. Not white chocolate. Not milk chocolate. Only rich,
dark chocolate!
Chocolate Health Benefits
Multiple studies suggest
that eating small amounts of dark chocolate may protect your health in the
following ways:
- Improved
endothelial function.
Several small-scale studies have shown that dark chocolate may help keep
arteries elastic and blood free-flowing by improving the function of the
endothelial cells that line blood vessels. One study of male smokers
revealed that only 2 hours after eating a small piece of dark chocolate,
participants experienced a significant improvement in endothelial function
that lasted up to 8 hours.
- Reduced
blood pressure. In a
recent study involving men and women with high blood pressure, those who
ate 3 1/2 ounces of dark chocolate every day for 15 days experienced a
drop in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Results were similar in another study of people who were between the ages
of 55 and 64 and had hypertension. The study participants who supplemented
their diets with a daily dose of dark chocolate for 2 weeks experienced a
significant reduction in blood pressure. But after only 2 days without
chocolate, their blood pressure readings returned to previous levels.
- Reduced
risk of heart attack.
Although more research is needed to confirm this one, a new study shows
that regular chocolate eaters who had heart disease were less likely to
die following a heart attack compared with the people who didn't treat
themselves to the dark and dreamy stuff. Consuming 6 grams of
chocolate a day can lower 39% risk of heart attack and stroke, as per 8
year study by German researchers. As per other study, consuming 1
chocolate bar a week lower 22% risk of stroke and also lessen the risk of
death after a stroke.
- Chocolate
makes you smarter.
Ample research suggests that the flavonols in dark chocolate increase
cerebral blood flow, which in turn may trigger the creation of new blood
vessels and brain cells. And a new study shows that older adults performed
better on cognitive tests after eating small portions of the sweet stuff.
- Chocolate
decreases your anxiety and stress levels. A clinical trial demonstrated that dark
chocolate reduced the production of stress hormones in as little as two
weeks!
- Powerful
antidepressant. Chocolate
is a potent source of serotonin, dopamine, and phenylethylamine.
These are three well-studied neurotransmitters which help alleviate
depression and are associated with feelings of well-being. Cocoa contains monoamine
oxidase inhibitors (MAO Inhibitors) which help improve our mood
because they allow serotonin and dopamine to remain in the
bloodstream longer without being broken down. Cocoa also contains anandamide
which stimulates blissful feelings. Cocoa also contains B vitamins, which
are associated with brain health.
- Sexual
health drug. Dark chocolate contains
epicatechins, flavonoids that trigger the release of dilating chemicals in
the inner, or endothelial, layer of the arteries, helping to treat
erectile dysfunction a natural way. A University of California at San
Francisco study shows that those who ate a 1.6-ounce dark-chocolate bar
each day increased their blood-vessel dilation by more than 10
percent. While the study wasn't done specifically on erectile
tissues, anything that benefits your body's endothelial system will likely
benefit your erections, since the penis is made up largely of endothelial
surfaces. "Keeping those surfaces healthy is crucial to good arterial
flow," says Kevin McVary, M.D., a professor of urology at
Northwestern University.
- Chocolate
has a cavity-fighting compound. Okay, so you don't necessarily want to trade in your toothbrush for
a chocolate bar. But some interesting new research shows a compound in
chocolate -- theobromine -- may be just as good as fluoride at hardening
tooth enamel. So the compound could find its way into toothpastes and
mouthwashes one day. Until then, keep in mind that most commercially
prepared chocolate has lots of sugar in it.
- Live
Longer. In a
15-year study involving men ages 65 and older, scientists studied the
eating and exercising habits of 470 men, tracking their chocolate intake
as well. Their results? “The men in the group that consumed the least
cocoa were twice as likely to die from a heart attack as those in the
group that consumed the most cocoa.” Additionally, “Men in the study who
consumed the most cocoa were less likely to die of any cause.”
- Live
Healthier. The
famous "Dutch study", which was done on regular processed
chocolate, followed over 200 Dutch men over the course of twenty years and
found that those who ate the most milk and dark chocolate had lower rates of
all major diseases compared to those who ate little to no chocolate.
The health benefits of chocolate were really emphasized in this study by
the fact that there was no upper limit to how much chocolate could be
consumed by these men. What they literally discovered was that the more
chocolate you eat, the more your potential for human longevity increases!
Wait a Moment! My mom said it is bad for
my health!
Mom always right, but all
the bad things commonly attributed to non-raw chocolate bars, such as cavities,
weight gain and diabetes, are actually caused by the dairy, sugar and others
fillers added to the dark chocolate. Health benefits of chocolate when
it is in the form of raw cacao beans, butter, nibs and/or the powder include
weight loss (because of its high chromium and coumarin content),
prevention of cavities (theobromine actually kills streptococci mutans
one of the strains of bacteria that cause tooth decay) and regulation of blood
sugar which is beneficial for diabetes (chromium can naturally regulate blood
sugar). Also raw cacao benefits the heart and the entire cardiovascular system
as a whole, as we already noted.
Cacao is the highest whole
food source of magnesium, which also happens to be the most deficient mineral
in the diet of modern cultures. Magnesium relaxes muscles, improves peristalsis
in the bowels and relaxes the heart and cardiovascular system. The dark
chocolate antioxidants have been clinically proven to literally dissolve plaque
built up in the arteries which helps in reversing heart disease and causes
naturally lower blood pressure. Also, various other vitamins and minerals in
raw cacao benefit the cardiovascular system.
The antioxidant content of raw cacao benefits the cardiovascular
and general whole body health. In processed dark chocolate, antioxidants such
as epichatehins, chatechins, resveratrol and procyanidins can be
present, but are in much lower levels than in unheated raw chocolate nibs as an
example. Out of all the whole foods that contain antioxidants, raw chocolate is
the highest in the world. It dwarfs the popular foods and beverages commonly
touted as being antioxidant rich foods such as red wine, green tea and
blueberries by a factor of 10x or more!
There are certain herbs and
spices, such as the chaga mushroom and cinnamon, which have higher levels of
antioxidants in them but generally you won't be consuming enough volume of them
to get as much antioxidant value from them as you would from a normal dose of
raw cacao.
Benefits from consuming
antioxidants come when a range of different types of foods high in them are in
your diet, since different coloured foods have different antioxidant compounds
which target different parts of the body. The phytochemical analysis of
cacao beans reveal that raw chocolate is perhaps the most chemically complex
food on Earth. There are compounds yet to be discovered in this most amazing of
live superfoods. Phytochemicals usually degrade in the cooking process, so the
raw forms of them should be abundant in every diet for longevity.
~Anandamide (the only food
that contains this neurotransmitter responsible for the feeling of
"bliss")
~ N-linoleoylethanolamine (prevents the re-uptake of anandamide)
~Phenethylamine (PEA, a neurotransmitter known as the "love molecule")
~Seratonin (a neurotransmitter that acts as a "stress defense shield" by making you feel good)
~Dopamine (a neurotransmitter that boosts motivation and pleasure)
~MAO Inhibitors (prevents the re-uptake of serotonin and dopamine)
~Coumarin (has appetite suppressant, blood thinner and anti-tumor properties)
~Theobromine (controversial but actually quite beneficial for humans, see last section)
~Asparaginase (an enzyme that has anti-leukemia properties)
~Ergosterol (a precursor to vitamin D)
~Sitosterol (decreases LDL cholesterol)
~ N-linoleoylethanolamine (prevents the re-uptake of anandamide)
~Phenethylamine (PEA, a neurotransmitter known as the "love molecule")
~Seratonin (a neurotransmitter that acts as a "stress defense shield" by making you feel good)
~Dopamine (a neurotransmitter that boosts motivation and pleasure)
~MAO Inhibitors (prevents the re-uptake of serotonin and dopamine)
~Coumarin (has appetite suppressant, blood thinner and anti-tumor properties)
~Theobromine (controversial but actually quite beneficial for humans, see last section)
~Asparaginase (an enzyme that has anti-leukemia properties)
~Ergosterol (a precursor to vitamin D)
~Sitosterol (decreases LDL cholesterol)
The nutrient density of raw cacao benefits every function of the
body. All of the compounds found in raw cacao benefits longevity in humans.
~Vitamin A
~Vitamin B (1, 2, 3, 5 and 6)
~Vitamin C
~Vitamin E
~Magnesium
~Copper
~Calcium
~Manganese
~Zinc
~Sulphur
~Iron
~Chromium
~Phosphorus
~Omega 6 Fatty Acids
~Saturated Fats
~Amino Acids
~Carbohydrates
~Soluble Fiber (which is the type people need more of)
~Enzymes (including catalase, lipase and amylase)
~Other Beneficial Phytonutrients (such as the antioxidants already mentioned in this article)
~Vitamin B (1, 2, 3, 5 and 6)
~Vitamin C
~Vitamin E
~Magnesium
~Copper
~Calcium
~Manganese
~Zinc
~Sulphur
~Iron
~Chromium
~Phosphorus
~Omega 6 Fatty Acids
~Saturated Fats
~Amino Acids
~Carbohydrates
~Soluble Fiber (which is the type people need more of)
~Enzymes (including catalase, lipase and amylase)
~Other Beneficial Phytonutrients (such as the antioxidants already mentioned in this article)
Tips for Chocolate Lovers
To get the most health benefits for your bite:
- Dark chocolate contain 30%
to 80% cocoa, but we recommend picking up dark
chocolate with a cocoa content of at least 70%.
- Enjoy
chocolate in small portions a few times a week. An ounce or two is a sensible
serving.
- Don't replace healthy foods with chocolate. Most
people's diets have plenty of sweets. Switch those for some chocolate.
- Check
the label. Avoid chocolate made with palm or coconut oils or any oil that
has been hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated.
- Don't
drink milk with your chocolate. Studies show that milk may inhibit the
body's ability to absorb the chocolate's antioxidants.
Sources
and Additional Information:
