Chocolates - Divine or Deceptive?
In today’s world, it is ironic to see that people are more aware and into fitness for ultimate physical body and health yet they are easily fooled into believing goodness of certain foods. But, why is it that? Who benefits? The big chocolate companies have enough money to fund researches and pay people to make us believe in the positive benefits of it. Also, marketing strategies often twist research to claim healthiness of their product.
I am a brown girl who likes everything chocolaty brown :P . Chocolates are my weakness and I know they taste divine. No doubt about it. But, what I find annoying is misleading dubious claims of chocolates being healthy or dark chocolates, to be more precise. I agree that cocoa is high in antioxidants but it is an expensive ingredient to make a chocolate. A lot of chocolates we eat is low grade cocoa, roasted to enhance its chocolate flavour. To make a bar of it, the entire chocolate making process requires emulsifiers, flavours (artificial or natural), soy lecithin and other stuff to be added.
While pure cocoa is bitter, pure cocoa nibs are nothing like a chocolate (more like almonds). Too much of a disappointment for all that chocolate craze, specially if you make yourself believe in chocolates health benefits. The statement ‘chocolates are healthy’ is quite misleading and the statement ‘dark chocolate is healthy’ is somewhat misleading as it depends upon the readers ability to read and understand ingredient label on the product. Sadly, many people fail to understand that dark chocolate is isn’t that dark and beneficial. Cocoa (not dutch processed) and cocoa nibs are healthy and has all that beneficial properties that scientific research talks about. What we get in market is sugar, emulsifier, butter mass mixed with low grade processed cocoa, which has loss its beneficial Flavonols. The story is that originally Aztec people used to make cocoa drink.It somehow reached a Dutch chemist, who then came up with a process of alkali treatment with sodium or potassium carbonate to aid emulsification of fat with water for large scale cheaper production of chocolates. This also darkens the colour of chocolate. Alkali treatment reduces acidity of cocoa from ~ 5.39 to 7 (depending upon the level to which it was alkalised). This can significantly reduce the level of antioxidants from 20-40mg/g to 1-6mg/g. Flavonols catechin and epicathechin level in dutch processed cocoa is way to low to give benefits.
The cocoa in most of the chocolate bars is so less that to get the required amount of flavonoids, you need to consume more, and if you do so, you are ending up with high sugar, fat, emulsifiers intake. Which in turn has its own side effects. But if you remove cocoa fat out and consume chocolates the flavonoids are not absorbed properly. Infant, natural cocoa butter helps in absorption of flavonoids. Moreover, if the cocoa is dutch processed, it will provide no or very little polyphenols. Marketing people can even sell poison stating the good side to it. That you will reach heaven. So, it is our responsibility to weigh advertisements and claims before blindly following the mass.
In all the scientific studies favouring cocoa befits, tests were conducted with pure cocoa not chocolate bars. So, eat pure cocoa. But, you see advertisements of chocolates not cocoa. So, think! In an article published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it was concluded that older women who consumes chocolates had less bone density and strength probably because with chocolates they were consuming lot of other ingredients. Most chocolates have high fructose corn syrup, which deserves another post to state its harmful effects. Some prefer drinking dark chocolate shake, but a research report suggests that milk reduces the absorption of beneficial compounds. In a study by Dr Mauro Serafini at National Institute for Food and Nutrition, Italy, it was concluded that antioxidants absorption decreases when you have milk to your dark chocolates.(Chocolate milk). Milk proteins binds with antioxidant molecules thereby limiting their absorption in gut. Reports also suggest that cocoa butter which is in higher concentration in dark chocolates assist absorption. Are you thinking about milk chocolates? Well, milk chocolates don’t have cocoa so no point of pondering over absorption of antioxidants. Milk chocolates have milk and butter from cocoa that we all call cocoa butter.
To sum it all, to get most out of your dark chocolate cocoa butter is must and so is no sugar and milk (or significantly less). But, with your dose of antioxidant you also end up getting fat. So, if you think dark chocolate assist weigh loss think again. Because my love for cocoa is pure lust and I don’t believe in superfood. So, if you are trying to check this out make sure you limit your fat uptake from other sources, To get the goodness of cocoa without getting the fatness form cocoa.
Let us see an example of a chocolate I recently bought which is 100% cocoa from Ecuador, called Cacao Sampaka. It has only two ingredients cocoa mass and cocoa butter. This one has
Per (25g or 3 pieces)
Calories -142 (of which 139 is calories from fat)
Total fat - 15g (24% of daily requirement)
Saturated - 10g (49% of my daily requirement)
Sugar - 1g (not added but somehow it is there)
Protein - 3g
Fiber -2g
Saturated fats are considered bad fat as they can clog arteries, and increase risk of heart diseases. For a 2000 calories diet, the saturated fat limit is 16g or 140 calories from saturated fat. Now check the label and see that how easily in just 3 pieces, you can reach close to the limit. This is because apart from 1- 3 pieces of chocolates , you are also going to have breakfast, lunch and dinner which might add the saturated fat.(through meat, poultry, dairy, eggs and vegetable oil). I just gave an example of a good grade cocoa dark chocolate I have. If you buy Lindt, Hershey’s, Nestle or other brands the ingredient list might have sugar, emulsifiers, soy lecithin etc. Chocolate drink without sugar and milk and 100% cocoa gives energy without giving what coffee and other caffeinated drink gives - A spike in energy level and then dull moment. When you eat chocolates with sugar, you might go through hypo glycemia, a feeling of hungry and tiredness. So you can end up eating more.
Look how the articles have rocketed around the world in papers, magazines etc. Headings like don’t feel the guilt next time you crave chocolate, chocolates are stress buster, Chocolates good for heart, chocolate for weight loss etc seems misleading.
This is the reason I don’t believe in all that health and diet related superfood sagas. Life is about balance. Just like when you laugh too much, you are insane and when you cry too much you are insane. Too much of anything good is bad and bad is off course bad. Cocoa is great for health just like blueberries, strawberry, guava etc. If you happen to find good grade pure cocoa, surpass the bitterness and happen to like cocoa drink then yes, it is beneficial. But, know that cocoa beans have 50% more fat than coffee beans. And be aware that your fat consumption is also going up. For appropriate daily calorie intake of fat, reduce fat from other sources to combat the rise.
In conclusion, sweets are meant to be eaten occasionally in moderation. Greed is harmful :) I tried to present my points with reasonings. I believe weight is to be managed by healthy diet and lifestyle changes. Dark chocolates with 95% - 100% cocoa are best way to curb your chocolates/cocoa love and to get the benefits of flavanols. But, ultimately moderation is the key.
This reminds me of a funny joke related to green tea and weight loss. Yea, so go to South America get real cocoa and try!
~Ren
