Contents:
- Medical Video: 5 Secrets of Duty Free Employees Won't Tell You
- Benefits of chocolate for health
- How do you choose healthy chocolate?
- 1. Choose dark chocolate
- 2. Choose chocolate with 60% or more cocoa content
- 3. We recommend that you do not choose "dutch chocolate" or which is processed with alkali
- 4. Choose chocolate with the main ingredients cocoa butter or cocoa liquor
- 5. Read nutritional value information
Medical Video: 5 Secrets of Duty Free Employees Won't Tell You
Chocolate is one of the foods that are liked by everyone from all walks of life, ranging from children to adults. Its sweet and distinctive taste makes it suitable to be added to food or made drinks. Chocolate is also suitable for eating anytime, when sad or happy. Chocolate gives satisfaction to anyone who consumes it.
However, be careful for you fans of chocolate, you should choose chocolate that is good for health. There are various types of chocolate in this world and certain chocolates can provide health benefits for you.
Benefits of chocolate for health
As reported by WebMD, Mee Young Hong, PhD, a professor of sports science and nutrition at San Diego State University said that for the health of our bodies,dark chocolate or dark chocolate is better than white chocolate. Hong compared white chocolate that did not contain solid cocoa with dark chocolate containing 70% cocoa. Of course, which contains a lot of cocoa is better than none because solid cacao contains a compound called flavonol, which has an antioxidant function and is also anti-inflammatory.
By experimenting on 31 people for 15 days, Hong found that people who consumed dark chocolate had lower blood sugar levels. This happens because the antioxidant content in dark chocolate helps the body use insulin more efficiently to control blood sugar levels. The group that consumed dark chocolate was also found to have lower bad cholesterol by 20%. In addition, other studies also prove that dark chocolate can reduce blood pressure.
So, it's clear not that dark chocolate is healthier than other types of chocolate. So that you know more about how to choose healthy chocolate, you should follow the following tips.
How do you choose healthy chocolate?
Various types of chocolate with a variety of brands available everywhere might make you confused when you want to buy chocolate. The following are tips that you can do when you want to choose chocolate.
1. Choose dark chocolate
As explained above, dark chocolate is proven to be healthier than white chocolate. The content of flavonol in dark chocolate makes it beneficial for health. The darker the brown color, the better to choose.
2. Choose chocolate with 60% or more cocoa content
To benefit from dark chocolate, choose dark chocolate with a minimum cocoa content of 60% or more. Although usually people assume that chocolate containing 85% cocoa has a bitter taste. Antioxidants and other nutrients contained in chocolate are actually obtained from cocoa beans, where chocolate is made.
3. We recommend that you do not choose "dutch chocolate" or which is processed with alkali
The method used to process raw cocoa beans into chocolate affects the content of flavonol in the final chocolate product. Chocolate which is processed with alkali contains less flavonol. Making chocolate with an alkaline process is also commonly referred to as "dutching". Therefore, you should choose chocolate that is not processed with alkali or "dutching".
4. Choose chocolate with the main ingredients cocoa butter or cocoa liquor
Chocolate with the main ingredients cocoa butter or cocoa liquor contains more chocolate than sugar or other additives. Chocolate with the main ingredients cocoa butter be a better choice. It's best to avoid chocolate with the main content of sugar, because this chocolate can endanger your health if eaten too much. Also, you should choose chocolate that does not contain a lot of additional ingredients, such as fructose, corn syrup, and hydrogenated fat (hydrogenated fats).
5. Read nutritional value information
You can find out information about the chocolate nutrition content as explained above from the nutritional value information contained in each chocolate package. Therefore, you should pay attention to nutritional value information before you choose chocolate.
To be healthier, eating chocolate should not be combined with milk. Drinking milk while eating chocolate can inhibit the absorption of antioxidants contained in chocolate. This happens because the high fat content in milk can inhibit the absorption of antioxidants in the body.
In addition, you should consume chocolate in small quantities. Consuming around 15-30 grams of chocolate in one meal seems enough for you. Don't forget to do regular exercise to balance the incoming energy with the energy that comes out.
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