Do We Love Chocolate?
Most people may agree with the statement, “Nothing’s better than a true friend, except a true friend with chocolate.” It sounds ridiculous, but the fact, although it’s identical with calorie, sugar, and fat, chocolate is snack loved by many people around the world.
It’s usual that chocolate is the enemy avoided by diet followers. Since many years ago, chocolate have been considered as fat motivator and illness contributor. Most of it known today is not pure chocolate, it’s the combination of fat, sugar, cocoa butter, and cocoa solid. Because of this mixture, many people concluded that fat makes overweight. But don’t worry, there are some benefits from chocolate for our bodies.
Antioxidant
Cocoa seed contains of polyphenol which is good for antioxidant and anti-infection. This antioxidant’s element is flavonoid which can be found in red wine and tea, procyanidin, and catechin. Flavonoid has function as antioxidant for avoiding cancer, procyanidin will clean free radical elements in the body and help to obstruct enzims’ oxidantion, such as lipoxygenase. Whereas, catechin is a strong antioxidant contained in chocolate which avoids early aging because of pollution or radiation.
Anti-Infection
Pophenol, contained inside chocolate, do not only hava a function as antioxidant, but also to avoid infection and atikoagulation. Polyphenol will protect DNA ana avoid unwanted blood vessels growth, reduce oxidatiion LDL-c, and increase HDL. The amount of phenol in 40 grams of a chocolate bars equals to the amount of phenol in a glass of red wine. Fat in chocolate also contains of alpha-tocopherol (the active element of vitamin E), the other antioxidant which also maintains our bodies’ natural stabilities.
Make Healthy Heart
A study of California University found that chocolate consumption doesn’t increase bad total cholesterol or LDL. Flavonoid ingredient in chocolate is actually capable to obstruct LDL cholesterol oxidation, raising HDL cholesterol, growing blood vessels, decreasing blood pressure, and minimizing heart attack risk. This flavonoid also increases prostasicline rate (a substance produced by endothelium of blood vessel) which can obstruct LDL entering to blood vessel. Most chocolate contain fat, but total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol inside chocolate is lower than butter or cow’s fat.
So, although both of them contain of animal fat, the cholesterol effect produced are different. High fiber ingredient inside chocolate is thought to be the cause why chocolate’s fat isn’t as bad as animal fat. Fiber is neutral fat acid that won’t raise blood cholesterol, because it is slowly digested and less absorbed by our bodies. Moreover, two third fat of chocolate is oleat acid, that is vegetable fat found at olive oil. A study on Mediteranian people who consumed olead acids from olive oil proved that oleat acid has positive effects for healthy heart.
Increase Sexual Libido and Mood
There is a scientific explanation why women like chocolate as their solution of stress. Eating chocolate is proved to make us happy. Phenylethylamine ingredient in it also helps to raise sexual passion and improve our moods. While, theobromine essence will increase awareness and calm.
Calm and happiness appeared from chocolate can make a chocolate craving. Besides, phenylethylamine ingredient, which functions like amphetanine, may increase triptofan absorption to brain and produce dophamine. Dophamine produced will give a happy effect and improve our moods. Phenylethylamine is also considered to have aphrodiac merit which produces a feeling as like a falling-in-love men.
Secured for Diabetes
Glycemic resulted from chocolate is not worse than conventional snacks for diabetes victims. Therefore, replacing diabetes snacks at noon with a bar of chocolate can be tolerated.
Chocolate has high calorie, most of it produced by sugar and animal fat. Fat acid contained in chocolate butter consists of 35% stearic acid, 35% oleic acid, and 25% palmitic acid. Most animal fat in chocolate are stearic acid, that is undisturbed animal fat which gives much energy and not increased cholesterol level. Whereas, oleic acid is mono animal fat proved to reduce small amount of cholesterol level.
Remove Fatigue
Consuming daily dark chocolate in certain dosage is capable to reduce chronic fatigue syndrome symptom. Chronic fatigue syndrome’s victims are usually recognized with great fatigue in their muscles after doing physical activities.
Black chocolate is considered to give a certain effect to serotonin substance of the brain. High polyphenol can raise serotonin substance in the brain, it’s supposed to produce a mechanism corrrelated with DVS.
Chocolate can be used as kidneys stimulus and cure anemia, TBC, fever, and reumatics. Even, European people, lived in 17 A.D., revered chocolate because of its curing intensity. They believed that chocolate may produce calm, help to absorb, and give power and happiness.
Cocoa Solid = Polyphenol
It can be concluded that polyphenol ingredient inside chocolate make it loved and good consumed. To choose chocolate with the most polyphenol, you should choose 70% solid cocoa, because the higher solid cocoa, the more its polyphenol.
So, how much chocolate can we consume? There is no nutritious suggestion in consuming it. Actually, consuming all sorts of moderate food won’t make a nutritious problem, even eating chocolate 2-3 times a week or drinking chocolate drink everyday. So, eat chocolate for your health and enjoyment, but don’t consume it too much. Do you agree?
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