Stearic acid makes the saturated fat of chocolate have fundamentally different functions from the saturated fat in other fatty foods. Even if you eat chocolate for a long time or in large quantities, the cholesterol in human plasma will not change, and it can also help inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein and even help increase high-density lipoprotein (high-concentration lipoprotein, commonly known as "good cholesterol").
Sticking to a healthy, balanced and moderate diet is the most critical factor to prevent obesity.
Chocolate can strengthen yang?
A: This is related to its unique composition. Chocolate contains a unique Anandamide ingredient, which can quickly excite the nerves that produce good reactions in the human body. This reaction not only has no side effects, but also can last for a long time. Eating chocolate regularly is very helpful for depression, neurasthenia and unhappiness, and it can also eliminate fatigue and refresh the mind.
Chocolate is rich in natural antioxidants, which can prevent fatty substances from forming obstacles in blood vessels.
Experts say:
Chocolate has medical effects.
A family doctor said, "If you want to be healthy, you must eat pure dark chocolate." Because dark chocolate is made entirely of cocoa, which contains Brazilian alcohol, it can reduce the prevalence of hypertension. According to research, the indigenous people in Kuna Island drink cocoa tea every day and prepare food with cocoa, so few people suffer from hypertension, but when they move and eat less cocoa, the number of people suffering from hypertension increases.
In fact, cocoa can also effectively prevent heart disease. Pure cocoa contains cocoa polyphenols, which helps to reduce blood viscosity, relax blood vessels and effectively reduce the prevalence of heart disease. Cocoa polyphenols, like tea polyphenols or phenol in vegetables, are natural antioxidants and can delay aging. Chocolate also contains a small amount of copper, which helps to make red blood cells, increase the oxygen content in the blood, accelerate metabolism and make people radiant. It can quickly replenish the calories needed by the body and contains a small amount of caffeine. Proper intake helps to clear the mind and reduce fatigue.
Nutritional components of chocolate
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People like to eat chocolate because it tastes mellow, but do you know that chocolate also contains many essential nutrients? These nutrients and their role in diet are very important.
Sugar is a carbohydrate. As a macronutrient, it is the main source of human energy. Sugar or simple carbohydrates mainly exist in fruits, milk, sweets and many other foods. The sugar in milk chocolate and dark chocolate is mainly sucrose.
Also, protein is a macro nutrient composed of amino acids, which can promote the growth and repair of skin, skin and hair.
Fat is an essential substance to maintain life, and it is also an energy source to help the body and organs keep out the cold. They also form and maintain body tissues to help transport fat-soluble vitamins in the body.
When studying the unique flavor of chocolate, scientists found that cocoa contains a natural compound called flavonoids. Flavonoids have antioxidant effect, which can help cells resist the damage caused by free radicals. Recent studies have shown that large doses of flavonoids also have beneficial effects on the mechanism of maintaining cardiovascular health. Flavonoids are usually found in many foods and drinks, including sour fruits, peanuts, apples, chocolates and red wine.
Chocolate also contains many minerals necessary for good nutrition, including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper. Each of the above minerals plays an important role in many biological functions, such as growth, bone formation, metabolism and oxygen transport in the blood.
The composition of chocolate
There are two main raw materials for making dark chocolate: cocoa beans and sugar. Perhaps because of the hype of high-quality chocolate manufacturers, it is popular to evaluate chocolate with the cocoa content in chocolate, as if it is a "living factor" that affects the quality of finished chocolate. However, in fact, it is entirely possible to produce low-quality chocolate with high cocoa content. In my opinion, most chocolates with more than 85% cocoa taste bad, and the best cocoa content is between 55% and 75%. The most important thing is the quality of cocoa beans. Perhaps the most skillful thing is how much sugar is added to a certain amount of mixed cocoa beans. Economic considerations may also affect this ratio, because sugar is five times cheaper than cocoa beans and 10 times cheaper than cocoa butter.
Like coffee, there are two main types of cocoa beans. Thin-shell Criollo (Spanish means "local") cocoa beans are equivalent to Arabian coffee beans in coffee beans. It represents a kind of cocoa bean with relatively rare origin, not too hard texture and not too rich flavor, with the largest output, accounting for 10% of the world's total output. This cocoa bean grows in Venezuela, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and Indonesia. This small tree has medium-sized pods and deep grooves. As it matures, the groove gradually disappears and becomes a fine point.
Thick-shelled forastero (meaning "exotic") cocoa beans are similar to Robusta coffee beans and are widely grown in Africa and Brazil. Similarly, it is strong and lacks flavor, and it needs intense baking to make up for it. It is this high-intensity baking that makes most dark chocolate have a burnt taste. The best manufacturers also mix some folastro cocoa beans in their products, because they can give chocolate excellent texture and ductility. But only Creole cocoa beans can provide the acidity, balance and complexity of high-quality chocolate.
Generally speaking, if the cocoa solids content in dark chocolate is less than 50%, its quality will not be very good. Because these products are either too sweet or too greasy, and some cocoa butter content should be replaced by other cocoa butter flavor enhancers (euphemism). Why replace cocoa butter? Some large-scale manufacturers have various reasons, such as extending the delivery time and increasing the melting point of chocolate. But one of the reasons is undoubtedly due to economic considerations. Because cocoa butter is evaluated as a unique fat by the cosmetics industry, its melting point is just lower than the temperature of human blood, and it is the best base material for lipstick and other skin care creams. It is this property of cocoa butter that makes it melt in the mouth and gives chocolate a unique taste. This is something that other ingredients cannot completely replace. If you taste some cheap chocolate bars, you may feel greasy, too thick and too greasy after eating too much, which may be caused by palm oil, nut oil or other cocoa butter substitutes. The crystal structure of cocoa butter also endows chocolate with distinctive texture characteristics, that is, it softens when heated, hardens and becomes brittle when cooled, and has a bright appearance.
Dark chocolate with cocoa solids below 50% is bound to become too sweet. Michel Chaudun, a chocolate merchant in Paris, pointed out that sugar can add flavor to chocolate just like salt to other foods, but too much will spoil the taste. One problem related to sucrose is that it has unconsciously become a part of food processing industry. Sugar has little nutritional value and is not always used as a sweetener. In some foods, it is often used to improve the overall taste.
Since Cortez brought chocolate drinks to the Spanish court, vanilla has been used as the ingredient of chocolate, and there are still some excellent manufacturers using vanilla. However, since ethyl vanillin was found in some conifers in the early 10 century, most manufacturers turned to this synthetic flavoring agent.
In addition to the above ingredients, there is another ingredient, soybean lecithin. Almost all chocolates now contain this ingredient. Soybean lecithin is added as emulsifier and stabilizer during fine grinding. Its main function is to improve the texture of chocolate and ensure its quality.