Health Benefits Of Flavanol From Chocolate

[Jingthing]

OK, so the premise here is that I personally am convinced that there ARE indeed health benefits from regular consumption of flavanol from chocolate, so that is not the intended topic here. The topic is how to get that flavanol most effectively with a view also to cost and avoiding collateral damage in the food along with the good stuff.

Media sources generally say eat a very small portion, like a small square, of very dark chocolate every day to get this benefit. Good dark chocolate doesn't have much sugar but it does have some butterfat and it is also expensive. There is also the risk that people can't resist eating a lot more than one square, it tastes so good.

Because of those downsides, I have been drinking about a tablespoon of Hershey's natural unsweetened cocoa daily. It's cheap, no butterfat, I can control the sugar (I do add some honey), the package CLAIMS it is a source of flavanols, and I am never tempted to drink more than the small portion (it's not that fabulous). However, I haven't been able to find out if I am getting the same amount of usable flavanol from my tablespoon daily as I would from the small dark chocolate portion. However, I have discovered that drinking DUTCHED cocoa is completely useless as a flavanol source as the dutching process (whatever that is, I am imagining dykes and smoky coffee shops and such) destroys all that. The Hershey's "natural" stuff is NOT Dutched.

Anyway, does anyone have any info about this?

Edited October 6, 2010 by Jingthing

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

don't underestimate the magnesium content of cocoa and it's benefit to the aging body.

That online health shop down in Phuket sells organic cocoa nibs. Not too expensive and will ship anywhere in thailand.

The less processed nibs are supposed to have the highest ORAC values and benefits.

Some nibs are fermented and some others not. I think the ones sold from Phuket are fermented which improves the taste.

[Sheryl]

We women have known for eons that chocolate is medicinal..................!!

of course in our case it isn't just our health that benefits. Has prevented more than one pre-menstrual or peri-menopausal axe murder, I'm sure.

CSN, do you have contact info for the place in Phuket? And by "nibs" do I take it you mean the actual cocoa beans?

[tim armstrong]

I'm not sure, but the relatively new dark chocolate called- BLACK, sold in 7/11s and other places maybe worth a try, although I haven't had a close look at the ingredients.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

We women have known for eons that chocolate is medicinal..................!!

of course in our case it isn't just our health that benefits. Has prevented more than one pre-menstrual or peri-menopausal axe murder, I'm sure.

CSN, do you have contact info for the place in Phuket? And by "nibs" do I take it you mean the actual cocoa beans?

I have never bought anything from them but seems in line price wise.

It looks like they sell whole peeled beans while nibs are coarsely crushed beans.

Here is the link. Anyone order from them before?

online health food in Phuket

[Jingthing]

Nibs, schmibs, I haven't seen those around.

In any case, to further clarify on my OP, I use the Hershey's cocoa POWDER imported from the USA. I make hot cocoa from it with honey and cinnamon. It is labeled as a natural product and I trust that it is not DUTCHED, but I do know the word natural is almost meaningless on commercial food processing. So that I suppose is the core of my question, am I getting what I want from this powder?

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Jingy

You can google it.. wealth of info out there. THe powders lose significant amounts of their potential benefit but still lots of antioxidants and nearly all of the mood calming and euphoria. Even the commercial powders are supposed to rival the antioxidant power of blueberries and Goji Berries.

I just use the powders and do the hot cocoa route. Also really nice to sprinkle on cut up fruit like bananas.

Some info sources claim the cocktail of mood chemicals is similar to the properties of THC.

Enjoy

[Jingthing]

How significant? Maybe just increase the powder dose?

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

some figures claim about 50% of the total but various sources are of course trying to sell their products so hard to really gauge. Seems like the range is 30 to 60% of the antioxidants are lost.

Sure more powder is an option. It's not very expensive.

The one downside however of lots of powder is a lot of magnesium which seems to cause an earlier onset of muscle cramps for me. I often ride my racing bike up in the mountains of chiang mai and seems like cramps kick more regularly on 3 to 4 hour rides.

Probably a way to increase other minerals like potassium etc to mitigate the cramps.

[mommysboy]

Dark Chocolate is undoubtedly beneficial and is cited as a food for lowering blood pressure I think. It's just expensive!

All food is good! it becomes harmful depending on the amount of processing, milling, refining, and bleaching it undergoes, and according to how long it is cooked and by what method.

[Jingthing]

Dark Chocolate is undoubtedly beneficial and is cited as a food for lowering blood pressure I think. It's just expensive!

All food is good! it becomes harmful depending on the amount of processing, milling, refining, and bleaching it undergoes, and according to how long it is cooked and by what method.

Dark Chocolate is good for its high cocoa content so I reckon why not just eat the cocoa without the other stuff you get in a chocolate bar. However, the mass media seems to always talk about eating the actual chocolate bar and doesn't mention cocoa powder (either pro or con). I don't know why.

[mommysboy]

Dark Chocolate is undoubtedly beneficial and is cited as a food for lowering blood pressure I think. It's just expensive!

All food is good! it becomes harmful depending on the amount of processing, milling, refining, and bleaching it undergoes, and according to how long it is cooked and by what method.

Dark Chocolate is good for its high cocoa content so I reckon why not just eat the cocoa without the other stuff you get in a chocolate bar. However, the mass media seems to always talk about eating the actual chocolate bar and doesn't mention cocoa powder (either pro or con). I don't know why.

I imagine that it's about making it palatable, which too an extent is fair enough. Dark chocolate is not so far removed from it's most natural form.

[Sheryl]

I'm with Jingthing. I want the chocolate (cocoa), not the sugar and other additives. The refined sugar in particular undermines some of the therapeutic properties of the cocoa, especially in regard to reducing stress, stabilizing mood and relieving many types of headache. Plus due to the yo-yo effect on blood sugar it sets off cravings which can make it hard to eat in moderation. Whereas the pure stuff, or something close to it, satisfies with just a small quantity and diminishes rather than sets off cravings.

Of course pure cocoa is too bitter to consume straight, one does have to put some sweetener in it but for me, I'd like only the least amount needed to make it palatable.

Years ago in Cebu I had some hot chocolate made directly from freshly ground cocoa beans, nothing else, we added a little sugar to taste. Happened to be served it at a meeting while in throes of really bad PMDD (PMS) and was it fantastic. Chocolate works miracles in such cases but nothing ever worked like that real stuff did.

I currently make do with Lindt brands that are 85% cocoa, not bad but still too much sugar.

Will definitely be trying the Phuket source. Nothing beats the actual beans in terms of immediate beneficial effects and logic would say that the same would be true in terms of antioxidant content.

[FBN]

I know when I start developing a craving for chocolate when I am in Qatar that I have been in the Middle East too long...

[leininger]

I have suffered from high blood pressure and to help with this I have drink 2-4 cups of cocoa daily. I do not use any sugar or cream just straight. it is bitter but not intolerable. I use Hersheys unsweetened as it is not alkalized or processed in any way. My BP went down but I also do other things like exercise and cut down on salt so I do not know how much help I get from cocoa but I will keep drinking it as it has other benefits. There is a tribe in Borneo I believe which drinks about 5 cups of raw cocoa a day and they have no high blood pressure and almost no cancer.

[GoodKarma]

"There is also the risk that people can't resist eating a lot more than one square, it tastes so good."

LOL! Big risk indeed.

I have also heard about the benefits and this post inspired me to now have a small bag of the beans in my desk drawer. I gave up coffee ages ago ( reading Skinny Bitch inspired me to do that) and am quite sensitive to the caffeine in chocolate bars, as I can never have 1 square. This seems like a happy medium.

The beans are a good way for me to get the benefits as there is NO risk of eating a lot.

Sheryl I will have to try making the drink from the beans. Currently we do not have ground cacao. I have ground the beans in the dry mill attachment of my blender but did not get a very fine fine powder although it did grind up nicely.

I would be a bit concerned about anything from a big corp like Hershey's. It must be processed a lot I would think. Perhaps an email to them might answer that.

Thanks for the mention of cacao in our store. I ran out last week, perhaps this post had to do something with it, but now I am fully stocked again.

Here is the direct link for the cacao page