How to Choose Healthy Chocolate

Chocolate can be good for you. By choosing chocolate wisely, you can actually reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, the primary cause of death in the industrialized world. More importantly, if you give chocolate as a gift, say for Mother's Day or St. Valentine's Day, you can now blend chocolate's emotional lift with a genuine health benefit.

Instructions
Step1 Understand why chocolate can be healthy.

Raw cocoa has more antioxidants than green tea or red wine. Cocoa is also rich in bioflavonoids, especially epicatechin, which is absorbed at high levels. This compound increases blood flow in the arteries, according to a study at the University of California San Francisco. Chocolate is rich in magnesium, which affects nerve transmission, and chromium, which helps control blood sugar. Chocolate is high in fat, but the fat itself is largely oleic acid, the healthy fat also found in olive oil.

Step2 Cacao Pod Appreciate its history.

The cacao bean is actually classified a fruit. It grows in tropical climates, where it is harvested from the tree of the same name. The bean had long been in use by the Aztecs in Mexico when, in 1519, the Spanish General Hernando Cortez landed. Montezuma, the king of Mexico, mistook Cortez for a god, and served him a drink of chocolate in a gold cup. The bean was so highly valued there, that it was used as a currency, so in Mexico, money did literally grow on trees. Cortez brought chocolate back to Europe, where it rapidly caught on. Milk chocolate was invented in 1876 by the Swiss Daniel Peter, who successfully blended milk solids with chocolate. Today the average American consumes 12 lbs. a year, mostly as milk chocolate.

Step3 Learn how it is made.

After harvesting at the peak of ripeness, the pods are split with a machete to expose the beans. These are covered with banana leaves to ferment for 5 days. They are next dried in the sun, then roasted. The husk is removed, producing cocoa nibs. These are milled with large granite slabs, making chocolate liquor, a non-alcoholic liquid. Cocoa butter is the fat in the liquor. It is solid at room temperature, but melts readily in your mouth. The butter is frequently extracted through a cocoa press and used for other products such as sun screen, because it’s a great moisturizer. After the butter is removed, the dried solids are ground into cocoa powder. You can create cocoa with different butter content by varying the press time. Sometimes the powder is made more alkaline to offset some of the bean's natural acids through what is called Dutch processing. The cocoa particle size in a bar is reduced by refining. Conching blends sugar with the cocoa. Tempering aligns the crystals, and then the chocolate is cooled and is ready for consumption.

Step4 Know that all chocolate is not created equal.

To maximize the health effect from your chocolate, you want your bars to have the richest concentration of chocolate liquor. The percentage of chocolate liquor is proudly displayed on the labels of quality chocolate bars. Unsweetened baking chocolate has the highest percentage, followed by bittersweet and semi sweet chocolate. Organic chocolates are the healthiest, since they have no pesticide residue.

Step5 Avoid chocolates high in sugar.

Read the ingredient label. If sugar is listed first, don’t buy it. Refined carbohydrates are responsible for a slew of health problems, including obesity and diabetes. Favor other sweeteners that are more slowly absorbed, like evaporated cane juice or barley malt. If you see chocolate sweetened with sorbitol, eat it in moderation, since sorbitol can act as a laxative. Don’t eat any chocolate with hydrogenated fat. Avoid milk chocolate, which just adds saturated fat to your diet.

Step6 White chocolate is seductive

a blend of cocoa butter with sugar and vanilla extract--but it has no chocolate liquor whatsoever. It has absolutely no health benefits. It's simply a flavored confection of fat and carbohydrates. In some cases, white chocolate is made with hydrogenated fat.

Step7

Finally, when you’ve found a dark, rich, mildly sweetened chocolate, eat it slowly and savor it. Let it melt on your tongue to appreciate the complexity of flavors present. Allow it to stimulate your endorphins. Choose quality over quantity. Don’t eat too much but enjoy this healthy yet sensuous addition to your diet.

Article By: Paul M. J. Suchecki