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Chocolate at Easter

28th March 2023

Stephanie Moore, celebrity nutritionist and gut health expert talks about how Cocoa has some phenomenal health properties.Easter is upon us and chocolate, in its various guises, but mostly egg-shaped, is at the entrance of every supermarket, newsagent, confectioners and even health food shops. It is the perfect excuse to eat yourself in to a chocolate stupor, no? … NO!

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I’m not being an Easter grinch. If you want to have some chocolate for tradition’s sake, then fine, but maybe consider making some better choices around your chocolate-treats rather than being seduced by the fancy packaging and sentimental attachment to having a shiny, sweet egg.

Cocoa is what makes chocolate chocolatey. Cocoa is made from the roasted beans of the cacao tree. Once roasted and blended with sugar and fat, you have chocolate. The raw bean, cacao, is very bitter and dry, similar to coffee beans and again, not unlike good quality coffee, good quality chocolate can be a great addition to a healthy diet.

There is a vast difference between types of chocolate and not just the obvious white, milk and dark. Different brands vary hugely in sugar, fat and cocoa content and the quantities of these ingredients determine whether chocolate is good, bad or awful from a health perspective. The higher the amount of cocoa, the better chocolate is for you. This is because cocoa has some phenomenal health properties.

  • Cocoa is a fabulous source of polyphenols, plant compounds known to offer anti-oxidant protection to our cells, can help to increase HDL (so-called ‘good’) levels of cholesterol and are a super-fuel for our beneficial gut microbes.
  • Theobromine, a stimulant in cocoa, similar to caffeine, has been well studied for its anti-inflammatory effects and is thought to offer some protection from heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
  • Cocoa is high in magnesium, the ‘master mineral’ that supports over 600 processes in the body. Magnesium helps relax muscles, calms the nervous system, helps with blood sugar management and so much more.
  • Cocoa has nice levels of iron. Iron needs to be consumed with vitamin C in order to be absorbed, so having some berries or citrus fruit with your chocolate is a good idea. A chocolate orange doesn’t count!
  • Cocoa is a great source of copper, an important mineral that works in partnership with zinc. Many people known about zinc’s benefit to the immune system, hence it was readily taken as a supplement during the covid pandemic. But too much zinc can cause a depletion of copper, so regularly consuming cocoa can help to keep this in balance.

Standard milk chocolate has only around 20% cocoa solids. Sugar will feature as the first or second ingredient (ingredients are listed in order of amounts, greatest first), along with some form of vegetable oil and maybe skimmed milk powder. When people crave chocolate, it is unlikely the cocoa they are craving, as there’s so little present in milk chocolate. It’s far more likely it’s the sugar they are craving, which provides a quick mental and physical high, especially when sugar and fat are consumed together in the ratios found in most milk chocolate. The mouth feels, the way it melts on the tongue, the serotonin and dopamine-triggering of our pleasure response and the instant energy boost can make milk chocolate literally addictive and utterly irresistible, the perfect foil for a down moment.

A good quality dark chocolate will contain a minimum of 70% cocoa solids with sugar at least 3rd, ideally lower, down the ingredient list and cocoa butter replacing vegetable fat. It doesn’t provide the sugar hit or the melt-in-the-mouth joy but it can be delicious, satisfying and a great way to help break the sugar-high habit. If you crave dark chocolate, it could be the magnesium, iron or copper you’re body is asking for.

White chocolate really is a misnomer, as there is no cocoa in white chocolate, only cocoa butter, so it doesn’t really constitute chocolate at all, just lots of fat and sugar.

So, when buying your Easter treats this year, maybe forgo the egg shapes for a bar or buttons of good dark chocolate instead. Check the cocoa and sugar content on the ingredients list to make sure you’re getting something and decent. If dark chocolate is just not your thing, look for milk chocolate with at least 45% cocoa solids and gradually work your way up to more bitter dark chocolate as your taste buds adapt.

Happy, healthy Easter to you all.

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