POST 3: Don't limit yourself to eating CHOCOLATE, just choose well.

 Chocolate is a semi-solid suspension of crystalline sugar particles, solid cocoa and fat crystals, lecithin, and powdered milk. Depending on the amount of each of these ingredients, there will be different types of chocolate: milk, bitter, white, etc. He refrains from consuming it since he considers it a candy, that is, a harmful food when considering a healthy diet. However, studies have revealed that chocolate has positive effects on the health of both people who do not suffer from any type of condition and those who, if they suffer from diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, this is because it has an antioxidant capacity, helping to slow down cell damage caused by free radicals. This characteristic is due to its high content of polyphenols, which have recently been in the eye of science due to their multiple benefits, and among these the good effect they have on blood pressure, anti-inflammatory impact, and antioxidant properties.

In chocolate, these benefits come specifically from flavonoids (catechin and epicatechin), which are a type of polyphenol contained in cocoa, this fruit is composed of cocoa solids and non-fat cocoa solids (NFCS), the latter are the that provide the total polyphenols present in chocolate. However, there may be other ingredients that affect the final amount of polyphenols, such as liquor, cocoa powder and butter, which are a source of this chemical. Therefore, when choosing a chocolate, you should choose the one with a greater amount of cocoa solids, always taking into account that, in the market, the percentage of cocoa reported on the labeling of most chocolates is composed of both fatty cocoa solids such as NFCS. This is relevant because it affects the caloric content of chocolate.

Choose well.

References

Loffredo, L., Del Ben, M., Bartimoccia, S., Castellani, V., Mancinella, M., Ciacci, P., Orlando, F., Paraninfi, A., Angelico, F., Ferro, D., Cammisotto, V., & Carnevale, R. (2021). Chocolate enriched by extra virgin olive oil improves endothelial function and oxidative stress in diabetic patients. Nutrition, 111270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2021.111270

Kawakami, Y., Watanabe, Y., Mazuka, M., Yagi, N., Sawazaki, A., Koganei, M., Natsume, M., Kuriki, K., Morimoto, T., Asai, T., & Arai, H. (2021). Effect of cacao polyphenol-rich chocolate on postprandial glycemia, insulin, and incretin secretion in healthy participants. Nutrition, 85, 111128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2020.111128

Vinson, J. A., & Motisi, M. J. (2015). Polyphenol antioxidants in commercial chocolate bars: Is the label accurate? Journal of Functional Foods, 12, 526–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2014.12.022