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Chocolate – a healthy Snack


The next time you eat a piece of chocolate, you may not have to feel so guilty about it. Despite its bad reputation for causing weight gain, a number of health benefits are associated with it. Chocolates are widely categorized into 3 types – white, milk and dark chocolates. Before knowing which one is healthier, let us know how are chocolates made?
Chocolate is made from cacao beans from the Theobroma cacao tree. The contents of the bean provide the basis for chocolate products. There are 2 terms “cacao” and “cocoa”, which are confused when to be used. Use of “cacao” is for the pods, beans and ground-up contents of the beans, while “cocoa” is used for the powder left pressing the fat out of the ground beans. Makers of raw (unroasted) or less processed cacao bean products often use the word cacao rather than cocoa, which may imply they’re more natural products. Once cacao beans are harvested, they go through several processing steps like fermentation, drying, roasting, crushing and grinding. Cacao is the raw form of chocolate, while cocoa is the heated version of cacao.  Chocolates darkness is determined by the proportion of cocoa solids made from cocoa beans, mixed with cocoa butter and sugar.
White chocolate contains only cocoa butter – no cocoa solids – combined with sugar and other ingredients. Milk chocolate contains about 10% cocoa liquor – that is both nonfat cocoa solids and cocoa butter which is at least 35% in dark chocolates. A standard bar of dark chocolate with 70% to 85% of cacao contains about 600 calories and 24gms of sugar. Milk chocolate contains same number of calories but twice the sugar. The amount of cocoa solids in dark chocolate is important because it can be an indicator of the amount of dietary flavonoids, which are antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables and certain drinks. So, chocolate can be a part of an overall healthy diet.



·         Dark chocolate reduces the likelihood of a heart attack – Studies have shown that eating chocolate prevents blood clots, which in turn reduces the risk of heart attacks. Chocolate contains flavonoids, whose antioxidant properties help fight strokes.
·         It protects against blood inflammation. Chocolates have flavanols (a class of flavonoids) which help people with their mental math and help improve your memory.
·         Cocoa contains a compound called pentamer, which disrupts cancer cells’ ability to spread. So, dark chocolate may prevent cancer. Eating chocolate increases insulin sensitivity, which reduces the risk of diabetes.
·         Chocolate can control coughs, improves blood flow, avoid sunburn and strengthens our brain.
·         It is very nutritious. Chocolate with high cocoa content (75% to 85%) is a very nutritious snack. Let us take the typical 100gm chocolate bar. It has almost all your RDA for copper and manganese. It contains over half your magnesium RDA and about two-thirds RDA for iron. It also has 10% fiber. There lots of zinc, selenium and potassium too.
·         Chocolate can help you reduce weight – Really. A small square of good chocolate melted on the tongue 20 minutes before meals triggers the hormones in the brain that say “I’m full”, cutting the amount of food you consume. Finishing a meal with the same small trigger could reduce subsequent snacking.
So we see how beneficial it is to have chocolates. But don’t just start binging on chocolate! When it comes to which type of chocolate is the healthiest, the answer is simple: its dark chocolate. Since dark varieties contain super-high cocoa contents (usually 70% to 80%, but many up to 100%), they contain more flavanols than milk chocolate. But the more cocoa you have, the more bitter your chocolate will be – and that’s exactly why milk chocolate adds in a lot of milk and sugar to sweeten things up. Before buying your chocolate, do check the labels. Recommended dose of dark chocolate is around 30 gms, not more as it would add to your calories. You can enjoy 1-2 squares of your chocolate bar without any guilt.
Disclaimer: This blog do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect a medical problem, please contact a qualified health care professional.  
                                                                           Happy Snacking!

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