Chocolate - are food of the immortals, sweet fruit of love, the fountainhead of happiness, and cure for melancholy - once known as God’s beverage, cocoa beans were once so precious that used as currency. Europeans were so enamored with chocolate, planted vast tracts of cocoa plantations throughout the colonies and contributed immensely to improvements and innovations in the production and processing of fine chocolates. To produce basic chocolate, cocoa butter is melted through heating with sugar, milk powder, emulsifier and cocoa was added. Finished chocolate is cooled and formed into shapes, is fragrant of cocoa, enriched of milk, and sweet of sugar. This is such an ingenious combination of flavors that it is impossible for a person to resist such naturally delicious food.
Chocolate contains abundant protein, amine alcohol and benzene base, which supports a host of minerals including the plain B group, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and copper. A cup of cocoa or chocolate not only can refresh & revitalize but also can replenish lost nutrients. Modern society is full of unhealthy food, polluted environments, and stresses that lead to increased blood pressure in especially, middle aged and older people. Cardiovascular diseases like arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease usually exist. Foods high in free radicals, cholesterol and fat can cause arterial walls to constrict, narrow, and lose elasticity. Yet, amazingly, chocolate and cocoa can contribute to the relaxation and increased elasticity of blood vessels which promotes circulation and reduces blood pressure.
The American Journal of Hypertension recently published a study by the Athens Medical School, University of Athens (American Journal of Hypertension 18, 785-791 (June 2005) doi:10.1016/j.amjhyper.2004.12.008) that 17 healthy volunteers, after eating dark chocolate, experienced reduced arterial stiffness and increased arterial blood flow with a subsequent decrease in blood pressure. In another study (Nature 424, 1013 (28 August 2003) | doi:10.1038/4241013a), researchers pointed out that the dietary flavonoid epicatechin available through the consumption of dark chocolate improves health as a result of increased antioxidant effects and therefore reduces free radicals and strengthens function of the blood vessels of the heart. It can evenly increase levels of HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol). These are just two of numerous studies whose findings indicate strong positive health benefits associated with eating chocolate due to the presence of phenols such as catechin, and polyphenolics which reduce free radicals and have cancer fighting and anti-aging properties.
In general, the darker a chocolate is the more cocoa includes, the antioxidants ingredient in cocoa will be enriched. The American Academy of Sciences has pointed out that flavonoid is good for health, strengthen circulation, reduce blood pressure and improve overall heart function. German researcher, Rensis Du, has also concluded that flavonoid can reduce the death rate of heart disease. The Harvard School of Medicine has also published reports stating that the Kuna people of the San Blas Islands on the coat of Panama, with diet marked by high consumption of flavonoid-rich cocoa have incredibly low incidences of hypertensions, high blood pressure, cancer, and heart and cardiovascular diseases. Antioxidants remove free radicals and help to prevent damage to cell membranes and oxidative damage. Dark chocolate contains 53.5mg Acacia catechu phenol/hg, and milk chocolate contains 15.9mg Acacia catechu phenol/hg. Polyphenolics in chocolate can prevent fats in the blood vessels to the brain from forming cerebral thrombus or heart attack.