Pick the right chocolate

So it is a good time to have a relook at the facts.

Chocolates contain over 400 different compounds. Chocolates,particularly of the dark variety,has been found by researchers to contain polyphenolic compounds called flavanoids. These include catechins,epicatechins,procyanidins and others. Flavanoids are known for their special health benefits including antioxidant activity,preventing oxidation of bad LDL cholesterol,anti-cancer effects,lowering of blood pressure and inhibition of platelet activity and inflammation. They also boost the immune system.

But remember,these compounds are also found in other fruits and vegetables,wine and tea.

The other benefits of chocolate include its mood elevating and stress relieving effects. This is because chocolate is believed to boost serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain. This is largely due to the presence of substances called phenyl ethyl amine (PEA) and tyramine. The smooth melt in the mouth consistency (due to cocoa butter) along with caffeine may also help elevate mood. No wonder women are known to use it as a fix for their premenstrual stress!

Chocolate also provides magnesium and some iron. Magnesium is good for bones and helps control food cravings.

But chocolate also contains significant amounts of caffeine. A 100 gm bar of dark chocolate contains more caffeine than a cup of instant coffee.

It is important to understand how much of these benefits you actually get when you eat a bar of chocolate and for that we need to know a bit about cocoa.

The cocoa trees scientific name is Theobroma Cacao,Thebrome means The food of the Gods.

All chocolates are made from cocoa and the varieties like cocoa powder,dark,white and milk chocolates get their unique characteristics from a difference in composition and processing.

The cocoa beans,when cracked,are called nibs. These are powdered and the heat generated melts the fat (cocoa butter).

The suspension is called chocolate liquor.

To make cocoa powder,the fat is squeezed out and remaining solids are dried into the powder. Cocoa powder does not contain much fat and gives the same benefits as dark chocolates.

Chocolate liquor is solidified with cocoa butter without the addition of sugar to form unsweetened chocolates also called dark or bitter chocolates. Dark chocolates have a higher percentage of cocoa solids at least 75 per cent with a little added sugar. In unsweetened varieties of dark chocolates,cocoa solids may be as high as 98 per cent.

It is these varieties which have been used in research studies and found to have cardio-protective and health benefits. Chocolate liquor can be mixed with sugar and fat to produce plain sweet chocolate and can also also used for cooking. Else,it may be processed with sugar,milk and cocoa butter to produce milk chocolates. These have a very high sugar content up to 50 per cent and only about 20 per cent cocoa solids. Milk chocolates can also contain up to 5 per cent vegetable fat (a source of harmful trans fats) instead of cocoa butter.

Cocoa butter is a neutral fat and does not increase blood cholesterol levels. But taken in excess,it can cause undesirable weight gain and associated complications.

White chocolate is purely cocoa butter,sugar,flavor,milk and contains no cocoa solids and therefore,provide no special health benefits unlike dark chocolates.

So next time you indulge yourself,ensure you go for the darkest varieties and look for the highest percentage of cocoa solids. Give it a miss if the label says hydrogenated fats. Remember,you get about 500 k cals in a 100 gm bar of dark chocolate. But you can get most of the flavanoid benefits from brightly colored vegetables and fruits,which carry only a fraction of the calories.