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I had no idea. When I used to snack on chocolate chips, I’d have 64 at a time. That’s about 380 non-filling calories. What a waste.
Despite all that, I agree with the Maya. Chocolate is the “food of the gods.” In fact, science used this Mayan belief to create the scientific name for chocolate. Theobroma cacao literally translates to “food of the gods.” I wonder if the manna God gave Moses and the people he led tasted like chocolate?
As you might have guessed by now, I, like so many others, am an unabashed chocolate lover. Which is why I have these things to be thankful for:
1) Chocolate, especially dark, more bitter chocolates, can be a good source of flavinoids. Flavonoids are strong antioxidants, which are able to help protect tissues and cells in the body from the destructive effects of free radicals. Scientists suspect that free radicals contribute to age-related chronic diseases.
2) Research has indicated that chocolate has beneficial effects on the heart and circulatory system. One study found that cocoa, the basis of chocolate, has a similar effect as baby aspirin in reducing the stickiness of platelets. Platelets are the cells in the bloodstream that cause blood to coagulate — great when you have an open wound; not so great when it builds up in your veins and arteries. At least one other study discovered that the phenols in chocolate could prevent LDL cholesterol oxidation as well as red wine. (LDL, or low density lipoprotein, cholesterol is often referred to as “bad” cholesterol because too much of it can build up along the walls of arteries, forming plaque and causing heart attacks or strokes.)
3) Most of the fat found in chocolate is in the form of stearic acid, which, unlike other saturated fats, does not raise blood cholesterol levels. There is also some indication that stearic acid may even help lower blood cholesterol levels, but further research needs to be done.
4) Since I don’t tolerate caffeine very well, I was especially thankful to discover that although chocolate does contain caffeine, it is much lower than I thought. In fact, a one-ounce bar has only 10-20 milligrams. Compare this to a 6-ounce cup of regular coffee, which contains about 105 milligrams.
5) When it comes to tooth decay, chocolate is better for you than crackers, raisins or granola bars. In fact, chocolate may modify the cavity-causing potential of its sugar because it contains a component that blocks the production of plaque, the first stage of tooth decay. An added benefit is that the cocoa butter in chocolate melts quickly and helps to clear the mouth, thereby reducing the potential to cause cavities.
6) NutriSystem has at least 16 items on the menu that contain chocolate. So far I’ve indulged in a chocolate drink for lunch, which was high in protein, a double chocolate almond cookie, which I talked about yesterday, high-protein chocolate pudding and chocolate almond pudding. Yum!
