The Truth About Chocolate
If you’re confused when it comes to chocolate, you’re not alone. A health food? A tasty indulgence? Maybe a little of both? That’s the topic of my Today Show segment. I hope you’ll find the answers to your questions, and also post a note with your own thoughts!
Some basic chocolate “truths”:
- Chocolate comes from a plant – it’s the seeds (within the pods) of the cacao tree. It’s naturally very bitter; if you munched on a cacao bean, you would find a very harsh and bitter taste, nothing like chocolate as we know it.
- Chocolate varies in its preparation. There are government regulations of what can be called “chocolate”, depending on its ratio of: cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, and milk. Ranging from baking chocolate (almost no added sugars), to dark chocolate (limited sugar and abundant cocoa solids), to milk chocolate (lots of sugar, added milk, and less cocoa solids), to “white” chocolate (NOT classified as chocolate at all, because it has no cocoa solids!)
- A special type of antioxidant is found in cocoa solids, called “flavanols”, which are where the health-promoting heart healthy claims of chocolate come from. This is dose related, meaning the more you eat, the more flavanols you consume. As a comparison, it takes nearly four ounces (that’s 3-4 regular size dark chocolate bars), consumed every day to promote a reduction in blood pressure! That’s 500 calories and 42 grams of fat!
- The new “super cocoas” are the wave of the future to harness the health benefits associated with the flavanols. The first of these is a Flavanol Rich Chocolate (containing 200 mg per serving – that’s a lot!), produced by the company, Cocoa Via. It’s the active ingredient, without the sugar and fat of a regular chocolate bar.
- Chocolate is also a “carrier” for other nutrients, which are unrelated to the activity of the flavanols. Calcium fortified chocolates (in milk and dark varieties) provide ½ the daily calcium requirement in one disk (at 30 calories), plus vitamin D. Plus, phytosterols (plant chemicals) are added to some chocolates to boost the cholesterol lowering ability of the product (Cocoa Via bars with 80-100 calories each). Again, any potential health benefits come from regular – daily – consumption.
Bottom line? Enjoy a modest serving of chocolate IF you enjoy it. Don’t start consuming chocolate as an addition to a “healthy diet”. Calories count, so monitor your portions, and allow a small indulgence. You don’t need to justify a chocolate treat for the health benefits of chocolate. While there are some health benefits to flavanols, they’re also present in a variety of other foods, including apples, grapes, wine (fermented grapes!), and tea.
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巧克力的真面目
当谈到巧克力的时候，你是不是跟很多人一样都感到迷茫和困惑呢？它是健康食品呢，还是只是一种美味的放纵，还是两者兼具呢？我们今天的节目将为你揭开巧克力的神秘面纱。希望你能从中得到你想要的答案并乐于跟我们分享你的想法。
关于巧克力的一些真相 
1、 巧克力的主要原料是可可豆。可可豆是一种名为可可树的植物的果实，它取自果实的豆荚。可可豆本身味极苦，跟我们印象中的巧克力一点都不像，如果你不信，那就拿一颗可可豆试嚼一下，恐怕你只会苦不堪言，强烈地感觉到其又苦又涩。
2、 因其配料成分及比例的不同，巧克力有许多不同的种类。该行业相关的管理条例就根据其配料中可可脂、可可油、糖和牛奶的不同比例，对巧克力进行了相关的分类。例如，可可浆指的是几乎不含糖的巧克力，黑巧克力指的是含有少量糖和大量可可脂的巧克力，牛奶巧克力指的是含有大量糖和少量可可脂并添加了牛奶的巧克力，而白巧克力则指的是不含可可脂的巧克力，它基本上不能算作是真正的巧克力。
3、 巧克力有益于心脏健康。因为巧克力的可可脂中含有一种特别的抗氧化物--黄烷醇。摄入的可可脂越多，人体吸收的黄烷醇也越多。每天摄入四盎司的可可脂（差不多相当于3-4支的普通黑巧克力棒中含有的可可脂）可以有助于降低血压，但这可意味着500卡路里的热量和50克的脂肪哦！此时就需要我们好好衡量一下了！
4、 基于黄烷醇对人体健康的益处，富含黄烷醇的优质可可脂将可能成为巧克力行业未来发展潮流中的无可匹敌的宠儿。巧克力制造商们正在努力研发富含黄烷醇的新的巧克力。美国的玛氏公司最近率先推出了一个富含黄烷醇的巧克力系列—可可维亚系列，它富含有效成分，且不含普通巧克力棒中含有的糖和脂肪。
5、 除了黄烷醇外，巧克力还富含其他许多营养物质。譬如，与维生素D搭配食用，一块30卡路里的牛奶巧克力或黑巧克力中含有的钙足以提供人体每天所需的一半剂量的钙。另外，植物甾醇（一种从植物中提取的化合物）也被添加到一些巧克力中，用来提升巧克力的健康效用，因为植物甾醇有利于抑制人体对胆固醇的吸收，上面提到可可维亚系列（平均每支含有80-100卡路里的热量）就是典型的例子。不得不又一次感叹，只要每天吃一定量的巧克力，也可以达到有利健康的效果啊！
那么到底该吃多少巧克力才健康呢？如果你本来就喜欢吃巧克力的话，那也要有节制地吃。不要一听说巧克力对健康有利之后就开始堂而皇之地把巧克力纳入“健康饮食”的行列，继而肆无忌惮地享受。要控制卡路里啊！所以要控制好份量，最多只能小小地放纵一下啦！当然，如果你本身就不喜欢吃巧克力，那么你也大可不必冲着它的健康效用而勉强去吃。因为巧克力中含有的对身体有益的黄烷醇也广泛存在于其他食物中，比如，苹果，葡萄，茶和酒（由葡萄发酵而制成的酒）等等。
其实无论吃什么，适度才是关键！你觉得呢？跟我们分享一下你对巧克力的看法吧。