Chocolate!
Wednesday 7 April 2010
Is chocolate really good for you? n2k explores the truth behind reports that chocolate may be a healthy option.
Chocoholic
There is nothing better than scoffing down a big bar of chocolate, but there is no need to feel guilty when you reach into the fridge; there have been a growing number of reports that chocolate may actually be good for you.
What is chocolate?
Our love of chocolate started thousands of years ago in the ancient Maya and Aztec civilizations of Central America.
Cocoa trees grew in the jungle and the people would make a drink from the beans to be enjoyed on special occasions.
When the Aztec empire fell, chocolate was brought back to Europe, however only the very rich could afford it. At the end of the 19th century milk was added and edible chocolate as we know it today was invented.
Why do we love chocolate?
The reason chocolate makes you feel good when you eat it is to do with what it's made of:-
- Xanthine – it’s like caffeine and can make a person feel jittery.
- Theophylline – stimulates the central nervous system, it relaxes the lungs and arteries.
- Phenylethylamine – reproduces the feeling you get when you fall in love.
- Flavanols – powerful antioxidants.
- Endorphins - can work as a pain reliever and make you feel happy.
The healthy bits
A study of more than 19,000 people published in the European Heart Journal found those people that ate half a bar of chocolate a week had lower blood pressure, improving their chances of avoiding heart disease.
The down side
Not all chocolate bars are good for you. Some chocolate is heavily processed and pumped full of sugar, this breaks down the goodness in the raw chocolate. It is the raw chocolate that contains the healthy flavanols. The excess sugar can also lead to diabetes and can rot your teeth.
It is important that eating chocolate doesn’t replace other balanced meals. It is still bad for you if you eat too much aschocolate is high in calories and can be linked to weight gain.
Before you go and buy out the confectionary section of your local shop remember to check:-
- The cocoa content of the chocolate, the higher the cocoa solids the better!
- Try to choose chocolate from known brands.
- Don’t eat too much, a few squares a day is the ideal.
- White chocolate has no cocoa content which means there is no goodness.
Chocolate Truffle Bars
Love chocolate? Give Sam Stern's chocolate truffle bars recipe a try. Like brownies but without the nuts, these bars are a bit sinful. Eat plain or ice patterns or messages.
Ingredients
200g/7oz dark chocolate
150g/5oz butter
225g/8oz caster sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 extra egg yolk
75g/3oz plain flour
Pinch salt
Optional icing
6 tbsps sifted icing sugar
A few drops water
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 20cm/8in square tin with baking paper. Sit a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.
2. Break chocolate up. Tip it into bowl with butter. Allow to melt
slowly, then stir together. Remove bowl from the heat.
3. Beat in the sugar and vanilla. Whisk all the eggs in vigorously.
4. Sift in flour and salt. Beat thoroughly. Tip truffle mix into the tin.
5. Cook for 35 minutes. Test (a skewer or cocktail stick should come out clean). It should still be a bit moist.
6. Remove. Cool in tin, marking into bars after 10 minutes.
