The Health Benefits of Chocolate Everyone seems to love chocolate, and it is one of the most purchased treats on Valentine’s Day for friends, family, husbands and wives. When people are stressed, or feel like they need a comfort food, chocolate is one of the first things that comes to mind, and is reached to soothe a troubled emotional heart. In the past, chocolate has been considered to be a ‘sweet junk food’ that is high in sugar and calories with no nutritional value. But due to recent nutritional and scientific research people should be eating a bit of dark chocolate for the antioxidants and heart healthy benefits. Chocolate has recently been researched in the science world for its high levels of antioxidants, …show more content…
Chocolate has two groups of antioxidants called flavonoids and polyphenols. Antioxidants fight against free radicals in the body. Free radicals are unbalanced compounds created by the natural cellular processes in the body and from environmental toxins. Antioxidants are compounds including vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that neutralize free radicals and protect the body from their damage. The substances in antioxidants counteract with the damaging normal effects of the body’s process of oxidization. Research shows that antioxidants help in preventing the development of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts. In a 2000 edition of Science News Journal, Janet Raloff supports the benefits of chocolate with the findings of antioxidants within chocolate, “Chocolate and cocoa powders are derived from beans that contain healthy quantities of antioxidants called flavonoids which have cardiovascular benefits” (188). She continued to state that these flavonoids are more powerful in chocolate than in vitamins, some teas, or wines. Dark chocolate can also help decrease the amount of blood clots in the heart due to the amount of antioxidants, which delay or prevent cell damage. In the December 1999 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vinson supported this in an earlier research supporting that “The
Chocolate was previously considered a “delectable symbol of luxury, wealth, and power” (Klein) in the 1500s. Using modern technology, it is now easily produced. While
If the company we outsource with has some sort of issue with its equipment or is running behind schedule it will delay our orders and reflect poorly upon our company. If we choose not to do anything we will continue running at inefficient levels costing us more and more money as time goes on.
While Europe and the United States account for most chocolate consumption, the confection is growing in popularity in Asia and market forecasts are optimistic about the prospects in China and India (Nieburg, 2013, para 9). According to the CNN Freedom Project, the chocolate industry rakes in $83 billion a year, surpassing the Gross Domestic Product of over a hundred nations (“Who consumes the most chocolate,” 2012, para 3).
We all encounter chocolate in our daily life, and whether we want to admit it or not, chocolate has been a major part of history, and it is still seen today.
Another reason is that the health benefits of chocolate are that it can reduce the risks of stroke and reduces the risk of heart attacks. -Katherine Zeratsky
Research has proved that humans have been consuming cocoa for over 2600 years from once upon a time being used as currency to becoming serious pirate loot to being the key ingredient along with sugar in producing chocolate today.
Founded in 2000, Cocoa Delights is one of the youngest gourmet chocolate manufacturers in the industry. However we do not view our youth as a weakness, on the contrary, our youth is associated with our two most valued attributes: creativity and innovation.
Twenty healthy, age-matched (36 years of age, on average) subjects were randomized to either receive 200 mg of Polygonum cuspidatum extract (PCE) (containing 40 mg of resveratrol) or a placebo daily for 6 weeks. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 1, 3 and 6 weeks. Oxidative stress was determined by analyzing blood for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Inflammatory state was determined by assessing nuclear NFKB DNA binding activity (via gel shift assay) and TNFα mRNA expression (via PCR testing). Resveratrol supplementation was found to significantly reduce ROS generation, NFKB DNA binding activity, and TNFα mRNA expression compared to both baseline and the placebo group at 3 and 6 weeks. (see figure 1). The authors therefore concluded that 6 weeks of a resveratrol-containing supplement could reduce both oxidative stress and inflammation. A major weakness of the study is that the authors failed to report the sex of the subjects making it challenging to compare these findings with other studies. Furthermore, this study used a PCE supplement, which contains several other antioxidants in addition to resveratrol. The possibility therefore remains that these other compounds or an interaction effect could have been responsible for some of changes that were observed.
Since the chocolate milk has so much sugar, there has got to be some extra, right? Well that extra sugar doesn’t get used in your body so it turns to fat. Also, too much sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes, or cause heart problems. Also even drinking chocolate before bed can linger on your teeth overnight, which can lead to decaying and cavities! A little harmless carton of chocolate milk can cost you and your child's teeth a trip to the dentist and a lot of money. The American Heart Association recommends “that most american women should not consume more than 20 grams of sugar per day, for men, they should not consume more than 36 grams per day.” But if woman was drinking chocolate milk on a daily basis, they would consume 10 grams more sugar than they need too. On the other hand, men consume sugar anyways, same with women that come in the form of foods, different drinks and candy! But an average person consumes about 87 grams per day, can you imagine all that sugar, it’s making me shiver just thinking about
As of October 2012, Andrea Torres, director of new product development at Montreaux Chocolate USA, needs to recommend whether or not the company should pursue a new product launch in the United States. The new product, a 70% cocoa dark chocolate with fruit product, has been tested because of “its heightened revenue potential, better alignment with health and wellness initiatives, and strong consumer acceptance of the proposition” (Quelch 7). This memo will address the
Chocolate became “a respected scholarly subject” only in recent decades suffering from “puritanical prohibitions” of discussing food or writing about it that were recognized standards of behavior in the Western world. The reviewed book The True History of Chocolate is a valuable addition to what the public knows or, rather, does not know about chocolate, with an interesting historical background that makes an entertaining and useful reading and extends one’s knowledge of things we use daily, sometimes without realizing their long history of evolution and multiple meanings.
According to cnn.com (2000), in addition to antioxidants, one of the fats found in chocolate, called stearic acid, may increase healthy cholesterol (HDL), and make bad cholesterol levels (LDL) less susceptible for oxidation, which leads to clogged arteries. This is the opposite effect one
Fiona Balloch requested the report to be generated to provide information on the structure of Joy of Chocolate and CG Chocolates. The purpose of the
Kraft Foods is one of the leading producers of chocolate bars in a number of different countries around the world, especially the UK. With inclining rates of obesity in countries like France, South Korea, USA, England, Greece and Italy, a decision to produce low-calorie versions of their chocolate bars could be a healthier alternative to the country. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to Kraft Foods while producing these.
Hypertension or chronic pressure plays devastation all in all body and can prompt cardiovascular ailment, stroke, and dementia. The magnesium and the flavanols in dark chocolate are the ones to enhance vascular capacity and enable lower blood pressure.