Dark Chocolate Chips - The New Health Food

Bitter is best but there is a difference between the many brand names of Dark Chocolate. It really doesn’t have to be all that expensive. Beware of those big name brands claiming to be dark chocolate. Many are loaded with milk, sugar or condensed milk which may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants. "White chocolate" contains cocoa butter, sugar and milk but no cocoa solids—in other words, zero antioxidants. Like yogurt, "dark chocolate" is not always the healthy kind you should be eating. A recent visit to the supermarket revealed a 6 ounce container of yogurt with 41g of sugar. Dannon "Light and Fit" has 6 ounces of yogurt with active cultures including acidophilus, 240mg of potassium and contains 20 percent Vitamin D and Riboflavin, Calcium and 10% Vitamin B12 and Vitamin A with 0% Fat, 0% Added Sugar and only 60 calories. My nutritionist had advised me to use this brand after a stay in the hospital revealed high triglycerides. She was right then and 30 years later the advice is still a brand name I respect. The nonfat yogurt is the real thing — read the labels. You really can’t judge a book by its cover.
Back to "Dark Chocolate," the daily allowance is 1.6 ounces or 50 dark chocolate chips. We have found a brand name available at Aldi’s stores called Moser Roth with 5 bars at .88 ounces ea. and the serving size is 2 bars at (50g). Each bar contains about 6.5 g of sugar. The Dark Chocolate is imported from Germany and information is available at http://www.aldi.com/ . The daily value of dietary fiber in the serving represents 12% or 3g. and 15% Calcium. Now how can you beat that source for these vitamins as compared to expensive pill-supplements? The best South American cocoa is used in this sophisticated gourmet chocolate. The percentage of Cocoa is 70% which provides increased blood flow to the brain according to research.
At any age, recent studies have shown dark chocolate may: 1) Lower blood pressure by dilating blood vessels. 2) Reduce the risk of diabetes by reducing blood sugar and insulin. 3) Activate enzymes that eliminate cancer-causing carcinogens and mutagens. 4) Reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes by inhibiting the clumping of blood platelets. 5) Keep cholesterol levels stable or even slightly improve them. 6) Enhance cognitive function by increasing blood flow to the brain. Now you choose your poison — I’ll take the dark chocolate — please!
More Antioxidants - many foods – notably fruits and vegetables — are rich in antioxidants, which mop up molecules in the body that damage cells and hasten aging and disease. Winner: Dark Chocolate; Runner Up: Pecans (14 percent less than winner); Crowd Pleaser: glass of red wine (25% less than winner).
Bitter Is Best: Cocoa beans are processed into cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The solids contain the antioxidants. The higher the percentage of cocoa content listed on a wrapper, the more antioxidants (Moser Roth states 70% Cocoa).
The purest commercial varieties, like unsweetened baking chocolate, taste bitter, which means that most chocolate consumed contains sugar. Most ingredients added to chocolate raise its caloric and fat content and lower its antioxidants. Milk chocolate also contains milk powder or condensed milk, which may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants.
The cocoa plant is indigenous to South America’s Amazon region. The Maya first cultivated its beans 1800 years ago. Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes introduced cocoa to Europe in 1528. The plant made its way to Africa and Asia. Today Ivory Coast Ghana and Indonesia supply more than 70 percent of the world’s 8.2 million ton annual cocoa bean harvest.