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Archive for the ‘Health Benefits’ Category
What I love about our Chocolates
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010What I love about all the chocolates we make is that they are made with high quality Belgian chocolate, using quality ingredients that set them apart from mainstream chocolate available in the UK. If you have tasted our chocolate you will know this is true. It’s all in the taste. Good quality chocolate does not use added cheap alternatives to the cocoa butter and mass found in Belgian chocolate. You will find a higher cocoa content in all our chocolate which means there is less room for anything else. Order online at hotchocolates.biz
Real Chocolate – The Elixir of Life?
Monday, November 30th, 2009A study carried out by the London School of Management and Science and reported in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology has demonstrated that eating chocolate high in antioxidants significantly improves your skin’s resistance to sun damage. Fresh cocoa beans are exceptionally rich in flavanols. Unfortunately, during conventional chocolate making, this high antioxidant capacity is greatly reduced during roasting. The team’s aim was to evaluate the photoprotective potential of chocolate consumption, comparing a conventional dark chocolate to a specially produced chocolate with preserved high flavanol levels. (more…)
Does Chocolate contain Caffeine?
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009There is some debate whether chocolate contains caffeine certainly as far as the BMA is concerned dark and milk chocolate do. The caffeine is present in very small amounts the greatest of which is in the higher cocoa content. The good news is that it is nothing like the amounts found in cups of coffee. The average cup of coffee contains 10 – 15 times the caffeine present in dark chocolate. Dark chocolate contains between 5 – 10 mg per 25g and milk chocolate between 1 – 5mg.
Have you got Chocolate on the brain?
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Research by Judith Wurtman, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, focused on how certain foods alter a person’s mood by influencing the level of certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters – dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. This research showed that neurotransmitters are produced in the brain from components of certain foods. (more…)
Does Chocolate cause spots?
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009There is a popular belief that the consumption of chocolate can cause acne. This belief is not supported by scientific studies. Various studies point not to chocolate, but to the high glycemic nature of certain foods, like sugar, corn syrup and other simple carbohydrates, as a cause of acne. Chocolate itself has a low glycemic index.
German researchers gave 24 women a half-cup of special extra-flavonoid-enriched cocoa every day. After three months, the women’s skin was moister, smoother, and less scaly and red when exposed to ultraviolet light. The researchers think the flavonoids, which absorb UV light, help protect and increase blood flow to the skin, improving its appearance.
Is the fat in Chocolate bad for you?
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009The fat content of the cocoa bean is one third oleic acid, one third stearic acid and one third palmitic acid. Oleic acid is a mono saturated fat like olive oil. According to research studies, stearic acid has no effect on cholesterol. Palmitic acid is a saturated fat and does affect cholesterol levels. However, according to Dr. Phillip Drew Minton who has written a book about the health benefits of chocolate, some saturated fat is necessary in diet as saturated fats provide protection against skin cancer whereas unsaturated fats do not.
Can Chocolate help prevent cancer and heart disease?
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Chocolate may be better for your health than tea because it contains more of a chemical that could prevent cancer and heart disease, researchers have said.
The research measured the amount of catechins – the chemical thought to be behind the benefits – in different types of chocolate.
The substance is also found in tea – leading the researchers to recommend a cup of tea with a chocolate biscuit as one way to help maintain good health. (more…)
What are the health benefits of Chocolate?
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Chocolate contains flavonoids, powerful antioxidants, stearic acid, phenylethylamine, theobromine plus many essential minerals such as magnesium and iron.
Flavanoids or phenolic phytochemicals are compounds present in plant foods which have been recognized as having health benefits. In humans they have been found to fight against cancer and heart disease. They exist in a wide variety of foods and beverages such as apples, cranberries, peanuts, onions, red wine and tea. (more…)
Can Dark Chocolate help control diabetes and blood pressure?
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Italian researchers discovered that eating 100g of dark chocolate each day for 15 days lowered blood pressure. In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the team reported that the antioxidant called flavanol was responsible for the beneficial effect because it neutralised potentially cell-damaging substances known as oxygen free radicals. Additionally, the team from the University of L’Aquila found that the body’s ability to metabolise sugar, a problem affecting people with diabetes, improved. The flavanols found in dark chocolate helped protect against insulin resistance.
