Chocolate Has More Nutrients Than Some Vegetables?

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A lot of consumers automatically take for granted that chocolate is bad for them. After all they have been told over and over again that both sweets and fatty foods are bad for you. And most of the chocolate food products that we see fall into both of those categories, containing lots of fat and sugar.

But, it's precisely those added ingredients of fat and sugar that make chocolate unhealthy. In its natural state, chocolate contains lots of flavonoids which nearly all health professionals contend is good for you. Flavonoids are those compounds that occur in most fruits and vegetables and have lots of antioxidants and bioflavonoids associated with them.

In a lot of ways, modern civilization has come of age up with chocolate. Researchers say that as early as 1100 BC, there are stories of man using chocolate. Then later, in certain cultures like the Mayans, cacao, as it was called, was linked to the gods and was sometimes used in religious ceremonies of worship and sacrifices. And still later, other societies begin to use cacao as a medicine.

And as for the Europeans, Christopher Columbus, in addition to discovering America, discovered chocolate in 1502. As more and more cultures discovered chocolate, it gradually became one of the more popular food delicacies of all time.

Flavonoids have long been associated with providing the person with a number of health benefits. In fact, there are quite a few studies that strongly suggest that they are instrumental in helping to fight major diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and more. Flavonoids also, seem to be extremely effective in fighting tumors and inflammations. The theory is that is because they seem to have anti-bacterial properties.

It's long been known that fruits and vegetables are a great source of flavonoids, which is one reason why eating your vegetables is always a good idea. What's less known, however, is that chocolate is actually higher in flavonoids than many fruits or vegetables.

Regrettably, a number of of these healthful flavonoids are demolished in the production and refining process utilized in the making of many of today's chocolates. For example, when cocoa is roasted past a certain temperature, many of the flavonoids are lost in the heat.

Likewise, in the production of most forms of cocoa, alkali is used which also has a destructive effect on flavonoids. And, in the production of milk chocolates, which are the favorite forms of chocolate in this country, the addition of cream or milk to the chocolate, while it doesn't destroy flavonoids, does seem to inhibit the flavonoids from having its normally positive effects on the body.

To combat the problem of lost nutrients from processing chocolates, some companies are finding new ways to process their products. One of the new ways that companies are experimenting with is a process called Cocoapro. This is a proprietary process that is supposed to allow nearly all polyphenols to be retained in the processing.

Part of the impetus for finding new ways of processing chocolate is the growing interest in healthy products by the general public. Another factor pushing the research is the marketing departments who realize that the ability to promote the healthy aspects of their product will pay off huge in the marketplace.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Please visit our site for his articles on health issues such as Fruta Vida International, longevity, bottled water vs tap water, and antioxidants.

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