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Chocolate: the Body Defender and Protector

Attention all chocolate lovers! Did you ever feel bad about sneaking in your favorite chocolate into your daily diet? Or how about going a little bit overboard with the chocolate dessert? Well there’s no need for you to worry. Believe it or not, chocolate is very good for your overall heath! After years of being put down, science has finally come around to give chocolate the respect it deserves.

Chocolate has been known to contain over 300 chemicals, and has been the subject of a number of studies by universities and other scientific organizations. The following are a few of the findings in the scientific community to back up the positive health benefits of chocolate:

1. 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.

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

3. Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine, a mild mood elevator.

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

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

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

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

8. Chocolate increases antioxidant levels in the blood.

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

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

Another strong suite for chocolate is the amount of antioxidants that it has naturally. Most of us have heard that antioxidants are good for you, but what do antioxidants do? Basically, antioxidants get rid of the things in our bodies that attack DNA, which will in turn damage the cell membranes and our hearts making cancer and heart attacks far more likely. These attackers often called free radicals, attack our cell structure and are the cause of aging, so there really is no way of stopping them from attacking us. So in theory, the more antioxidants you eat the longer you are likely to live because they help defend your body against the attackers. Antioxidants are found in many natural plants. You can tell how rich they are in antioxidants by the color of the plant’s bearings or the plant itself. The deeper the color, the more antioxidants the food contains. For example, blackberries, blueberries and red grapes all dark in color, all rich in intense antioxidants. Now look at the color of natural chocolate, it is so dark it is almost black, making it one of the healthiest foods you can put in your mouth. Keep in mind this is natural chocolate that has not been overly processed. Researchers have found that raw and / or minimally processed cocoa contains flavonoids similar to those found in green tea. According to preliminary studies, these antioxidants have been linked to help accomplish the following in the body:

• Decrease blood pressure

• Improve circulation throughout the body

• Lower death rate from heart disease

• Improve function of endothelial cells that line the blood vessels

• Defend against destructive molecules called free radicals, which trigger cancer, heart disease and stroke

• Improve Digestion and stimulate kidneys

• Has been used to help treat patients with anemia, kidney stones and poor appetite

There are two different kinds of flavonoids called catechin and epicatechins. Catechins, which have recently been found to be abundant in cocoa and minimally processed chocolates, could also help prevent heart disease and possibly cancer, as well as boosting the immune system, according to recent studies. Dark chocolate has also recently been found to contain more than 3 times the amount of catechins as that found in tea. Chocolate is also a good source of copper and magnesium, which helps to regulate heartbeat and blood pressure.

So there it is, chocolate worth eating, but as in any food, a mass quantity can be destructive. By giving someone a basket of chocolate goodies or having some yourself, you can effectively causing an uplifting emotional but also healthy outcome. Have you had your chocolate today?

About the Author

Georgia Silver is a technical writer on
Chocolate and
Chocolate Gifts for Choconet.

How To Melt Chocolate And Chop It

The first step in making chocolate is to buy the necessary materials and equipment. When you have everything ready, you need to chop the chocolate before melting it and then pouring this into the mold.

The reason why you chop bars of chocolate is to melt it evenly thus preventing overheating. You can use the kitchen knife or use something to cut this more evenly like a pair of chocolate clippers that can also be purchased from the craft store.

People who want to use a knife should make sure it is sharp. The ideal kind should measure at least 8 to 10 inches and when you cut the chocolate make sure that you press the knife down firmly and evenly on the chocolate.

You should start with the corners and then angle the knife slightly outward. You should continue doing so until all the chocolate is chopped into almost sized pieces. When you are finished, you then put this in a bowl so it can be melted.

There are two options when it comes to melting chocolate. The first is to use a microwave. The advantage of using a microwave is that the melting time is very fast. This will be over in a few minutes even if you set the microwave at 50% low power.

How long should you set the microwave timer? The best way to gauge that is 1 minute for every ounce of chocolate? So don't forget to weigh this first before switching it on.

You might accidentally overheat the chocolate. If this should happen, pour the contents into a cool bowl and add chunks of unmelted chocolate and stir continuously.

If you prefer to use a double boiler, start by filling the sauce pan with hot water from the tap and then put the chocolate over into another bowl. Unlike the microwave where you can put a huge chunk in, you have to put this little by little and stirred constantly to prevent air bubbles. When this is done, this is the time you pour this into the mold.  

Some people add nuts to the chocolate. If you want to try that, there are two ways of chopping that. First, you use a sharp, serrated knife. The other option is to use a food processor but if you don't have one, a coffee grinder will do. Just remember when you are chopping the nuts, don't cut this into a fine meal because you will hardly taste it when you eat the chocolate.

Aside from chocolate, you can also use marshmallows. The nice thing about this is that this is available in small sizes so you don't have to cut it. You can also use candy sprinkles which can be mixed with the melted chocolate when you are stirring it. Save some for the latter part when you take this out of the freezer so you can still add it in the finished product.

Chopping chocolate is just like cooking because this is the same thing you do before you throw in the meat or the vegetables into the frying pan. The only difference is that you only use low heat which is more than enough to melt everything so it can be molded into whatever shape of mold you have.

About the Author

Learn about pictures of chocolate and who invented chocolate at the Chocolate Facts site.

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Tags: candy, chocolate, diy, food, how to melt and mold chocolate, make and mold chocolate, melt and mold chocolate, mold, mold chocolate, mold chocolate candy

This entry was posted on Monday, August 15th, 2005 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Cookies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.