Types of Chocolate

As any chocolate fan can tell you, there are plenty to choose from but here's a brief glossary to the wonderful world of chocolate:

WHITE CHOCOLATE

Chocolate made with cocoa butter, sugar, milk, emulsifier, vanilla and sometimes other flavorings. It does not contain any non-fat ingredients from the cacao bean and has therefore an off-white color.

MILK CHOCOLATE

Sweet chocolate which normally contains 10 to 20 percent cocoa solids and more than 12 percent milk solids.

DARK CHOCOLATE

Sweetened chocolate with high content of cocoa solids with none or very little milk.

SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE

This is the classic dark baking chocolate, which can be purchased in most grocery stores. It is frequently used for cakes, cookies and brownies.

SWEET DARK CHOCOLATE

Similar to semi-sweet chocolate, it is not always possible to distinguish between the flavors of sweet and semi-sweet chocolate.

Is Chocolate Really Healthy?

Presently, scientists are beginning to disapprove some of the myths related to the dangerous effects of eating too much chocolate. It is not true that too much intake of chocolate will rot your healthy teeth. Neither does it trigger migraine headaches nor does it cause acne or make it worse.

In fact, research has proven that chocolates have properties to work against sugar's tendency to produce oral bacteria that can cause dental decay. Present research has also proven that chocolate is helpful to you in many ways. Chocolate releases endorphins in the brain that act as pain reliever. It can also boost your appetite without causing weight gain. Chocolate reduces the risk of heart disease and cancers, therefore making it one of the contributing factors that can make you live longer. Besides, sugar in chocolate reduces stress and enables you to have a calm and pain-relieving effect. So chocoholics, it's time to feel less guilty about your coco-addiction!

But having said all that, before you grab a chocolate bar, you must know what chocolate is good for you. When cocoa is processed into chocolate products it undergoes several processes to reduce its pungent taste. The pungent taste is due to the presence of flavonoids. The more the chocolate is processed, the more flavonoids are lost. Dark chocolate is reported to have the highest level of polyphenols. So, it is better to choose dark chocolates over milk chocolates.

The Real Health Benefits of Chocolate

Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as anti-oxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from ageing caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly eight times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide and balance certain hormones in the body.

Chocolates that are rich in flavanol have a large amount of nitric oxide. Nitric oxides are very important for human health. They resist cardiovascular diseases and help maintain a healthy blood pressure. Flavanol rich chocolates have the same effect as low doses of aspirin, so they promote a healthy blood flow too. They even reduce the risk of heart attack and the blood's ability to clot in the arteries and veins.

Chocolate contains some essential trace elements and nutrients that are good for health. Chocolate made from cocoa is the richest source of magnesium. Magnesium is necessary for you, as deficiency in magnesium may lead to hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, joint problems and also pre-menstrual tension. Chocolate is also rich in iron, calcium, potassium and vitamins A, B1, C, D and E.

Does Chocolate Make You Fat?

There's a lady who works at the Australian Cadbury Factory that always tells the same joke when she gives the factory tour, "On contrary belief, chocolate doesn't make you fat. But what it does is that it shrinks your clothes!" Let's face it; most of us stop ourselves from gorging on this delicious candy because we are afraid of the weight consequences.

But, here is some more good news-some of the fats in chocolate do not impact your cholesterol. The fats in chocolate are made up of 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid. Oleic acid is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil. Stearic acid is a saturated fat but research shows it has a neutral effect on cholesterol. Palmitic acid is also a saturated fat, and this is the fat bearing negative effects as it raises cholesterol and heart disease risk.

This means only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is bad for you! But that doesn't mean you can now eat your favorite chocolate bar as dinner! But it does mean you can now enjoy your favorite choc bar minus the guilt.

Below are some suggestions to help you tip the scale, so to speak:

CHOCOLATE TIP 1 Balance the Calories

Even though chocolate is good for you, it's good to remember that it is still a high-calorie and high-fat food. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits. One bar of dark chocolate has around 400 calories. If you eat half a bar of chocolate a day, you must balance those 200 calories by eating less of something else. Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with chocolate to keep your total calories the same.

CHOCOLATE TIP 2 Taste the Chocolate

Chocolate is a complex food with over 300 compounds and chemicals in each bite. To really enjoy and appreciate chocolate, take the time to taste it

CHOCOLATE TIP 3 Go For Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate has far more anti-oxidants than milk or white chocolate. Dark chocolate has 65 percent or higher cocoa content. So, pick dark over any other type of chocolate.

CHOCOLATE TIP 4 Skip the Nougat

You should look for pure dark chocolate or dark chocolate with nuts, orange peel or other flavors. Avoid anything with caramel, nougat or other fillings. These fillings just add sugar and fat, which erase many of the benefits you get from eating the chocolate.

CHOCOLATE TIP 5 Avoid Milk

Some research shows that washing your chocolate down with a glass of milk could prevent the anti-oxidants being absorbed or used by your body.