Choosing Healthy Chocolate

By: Debra Lynn Dadd
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:17:40
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

Let's face it. We're all going to eat chocolate. But you don't have to feel guilty! Chocolate is actually good for you...it's all the things added to it that are the problem. Here's how you can choose delicious healthy chocolates to enjoy anytime.

Health Benefits

The gift of chocolate to a beloved as a token of love is more than just tradition. Naturally-occurring compounds in chocolate produce that mild euphoria of being in love and contribute to enjoyable interpersonal relations by elevating mood and enhancing sensory perception.

Beyond good feelings, chocolate benefits the body in many ways. In moderation, chocolate can contribute to heart health, help you live longer, suppress a chronic cough, and add needed magnesium to your diet. Chocolate even contains a high level of chromium, which can help control blood sugar.

Health Problems

While chocolate itself is fine to eat, there are some substances present in chocolate products that you should watch out for.

Most chocolate products contain tremendous amounts of refined white sugar, which is harmful to health in many ways.

Chocolate may also contain pesticides. The EPA allows various levels of pesticide residue to be present in cocoa powder, and the FDA Total Diet Study found them in many chocolate products.

Many chocolates also contain the toxic metals cadminum and lead. "Significant levels" of these metals were found in 68% of the common chocolate products tested. There is no safe level for lead, and it is particularly harmful to children.

Healthy Chocolate Choices

Here are some guidelines for choosing the healthiest chocolates.

1. Choose chocolates with the least amount of refined white sugar or other sweetener. Dark "bittersweet" chocolates with a high percentage of cocoa solids (usually the label will state the exact percentage) have less sugar than semisweet or milk chocolate and also have the greatest health benefits. Keep in mind that flavor additions, such as dried fruits and candied ginger may also add sugar to the chocolate.

2. Choose chocolates sweetened with evaporated cane juice or barley malt. If the evaporated cane juice used is the unprocessed whole juice of the cane, it acts in the body like a whole food and doesn't give a sugar rush. Barley malt is also a slow-release sweetener, noted on the label as "grain-sweetened."

3. Choose organic chocolates. Certified organic chocolate ensures there are no harmful pesticide residues.

4. Make your own chocolates. It's easy to make many chocolate delights yourself, with the exact ingredients you want. Start with unsweetened cocoa powder or baking chocolate and be creative!

5. Choose quality over quantity. If you are going to eat chocolate, eat really good chocolate. Then, for maximum enjoyment, give the taste of the chocolate your full attention, eat it at a time when you are not famished or overly full, and allow the chocolate to melt in your mouth to make the experience last.

So go ahead and enjoy chocolate, in moderation, as part of an otherwise healthy diet,

Learn more about healthy chocolate at http://www.debraslist.com/food/aboutchocolate.html

Hailed as "The Queen of Green" by the New York Times, Debra Lynn Dadd has been a leading consumer advocate for products and lifestyle choices that are better for health and the environment since 1982. Visit her website at http://www.dld123.com to sign up for her free email newsletters and to browse 100s of links to 1000s of nontoxic, natural and earthwise products.

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Chocolate category

  • Gourmet Chocolates... Everybody's Weakness - By: Crizza Reyes
    Chocolate is the voice of passion and love, whether it is the love of chocolate itself or as an expression of love for another human being. The way its texture feels in your mouth as it melts is very satisfying and its richness takes this pleasure to a whole new level.
  • Indulge in Gourmet Chocolates - By: Crizza Reyes
    Chocolate is the voice of passion and love, whether it is the love of chocolate itself or as an expression of love for another human being. The way its texture feels in your mouth as it melts is very satisfying and its richness takes this pleasure to a whole new level.
  • Cocoa Beans and the Fierce Competition in the Chocolate Industry - By: Cristian Stan
    Chocolates are always referred to as feel-good foods. They are the simple luxuries of life. However, making chocolates is never simple - especially not with the fierce competition perceived in the chocolate industry these days.
  • Celebrate with custom chocolate coins - By: Ajay Shringi
    Chocolate - ah, the rich, seductive swirl of thick, creamy chocolate melting at the tip of your tongue sends all your senses into a tizzy of pleasure. Every time you bite into a piece of chocolate, whether it is white, brown or even bitter chocolate, you cannot help but heave a sigh of pure, undiluted pleasure. This is the reason why more and more people are celebrating with chocolate favors.
  • Custom chocolate cigars make the perfect gift - By: Ajay Shringi
    This year, why not floor your competition with a gift that they will never forget? Delicious, personalized chocolate cigars carrying a heartfelt personal message will leave an impression that won't go away in a hurry.
  • Cocoa Commodity Prices are affected by the US Economy - By: Cristian Stan
    With the recent slump in the U.S. economy, cocoa manufacturers have experienced a downfall in their commodity pricing. The U.S. is one of the biggest consumers of cocoa, as it is the main ingredient of chocolate and chocolate drinks. The slowdown in the U.S. economy had triggered a not-so good effect in the cocoa industry all over the world.
  • Cocoa Beans are the Super Food of the Future - By: Cristian Stan
    Super foods are defined as food items that can ward off diseases like cancer, heart ailments, cholesterol, and a whole list of others. These foods have high phytonutrient content that can only be good for your health. Any food containing significant amounts of vitamins, antioxidants, dietary fibers, minerals, and enzymes can be regarded as a super food.
  • Services provided with chocolate fountain - By: Awais Ashraf
    Since previous twenty years one of the most remarkable unmatched and fun inclusions to weddings, birthday parties and other occasions is chocolate fountain. A chocolate fountain has turned into one of the most preferable and ideal appendage for parties having a factor of joy and amazement for the crowd.
  • Hand Made Chocolates and Flowers - By: Timothy Spencer
    A bouquet of flowers always comes best with a box of chocolates. However, there are no more special than hand-made Belgian chocolates with that bunch of fresh flowers. This article explains how a box of Belgian hand-made chocolates is the best from other kinds of chocolates you can find from the nearest supermarket.
  • Sweeten Your Wedding Day - By: Promila Saini
    Traditionally, wedding days are filled with flowers and laces, yes, that could still work but where's the uniqueness and "one of a kind" concept that you are looking for? Instead of settling to the use of flowers and laces, why not try chocolates and sweets?