Regarding chocolates being the food symbol of Valentine's Day, there are 2 things to muse about. First, it is how chocolates got involved with Valentine's Day -- which I actually have no clue but I am sure the information is available easily somewhere. The second being the nutritional features of chocolate.
Chocolate has 3 major ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, and cocoa solid. Milk chocolate has milk added to it, and dark chocolate comes in different percentages depending on the amount of cocoa liquor (the natural mixture of cocoa butter and solid in the cacao bean). White chocolate does not have cocoa solid. Not all chocolate flavored foods contain real chocolate. The chocolate flavor can be artificial.
Cocoa butter is an interesting fat. It is mainly a mixture of saturated fat and monounsaturated fat. The monounsaturated (oleic acid, to be specific) is a healthy fat. And although saturated fat generally is unhealthy, the story is actually more complicated. A good amount of the saturated fat in chocolate is stearic acid, which has neutral effect on blood cholesterol level.
The darker the chocolate, the more antioxidant there is. The antioxidant is in the cocoa solid. Since antioxidant generally is a good thing for the body, is chocolate a healthy food then? Well, it is a double-edged sword. Although it contains antioxidant, it is unclear how much we need to eat everyday to accumulate a meaningful amount of benefit. Also, since chocolates contain sugar and fat (from the cocoa butter), it is not a low calorie food. More over, chocolate (except white chocolate) contains theobromine, which can increase heart rate and keep people awake just like caffeine, but the effect is much much weaker.
So what is a chocoholic to do? Being one myself, I follow 3 principles:
1. Eat real chocolate (and dark ones), not things with artificial chocolate flavor.
2. Eat a small amount.
3. Watch the whole diet, so that the sugar and fat from the chocolate does not add excess calories.
Happy Valentine's Day and enjoy the chocolate!
Chocolate has 3 major ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, and cocoa solid. Milk chocolate has milk added to it, and dark chocolate comes in different percentages depending on the amount of cocoa liquor (the natural mixture of cocoa butter and solid in the cacao bean). White chocolate does not have cocoa solid. Not all chocolate flavored foods contain real chocolate. The chocolate flavor can be artificial.
Cocoa butter is an interesting fat. It is mainly a mixture of saturated fat and monounsaturated fat. The monounsaturated (oleic acid, to be specific) is a healthy fat. And although saturated fat generally is unhealthy, the story is actually more complicated. A good amount of the saturated fat in chocolate is stearic acid, which has neutral effect on blood cholesterol level.
The darker the chocolate, the more antioxidant there is. The antioxidant is in the cocoa solid. Since antioxidant generally is a good thing for the body, is chocolate a healthy food then? Well, it is a double-edged sword. Although it contains antioxidant, it is unclear how much we need to eat everyday to accumulate a meaningful amount of benefit. Also, since chocolates contain sugar and fat (from the cocoa butter), it is not a low calorie food. More over, chocolate (except white chocolate) contains theobromine, which can increase heart rate and keep people awake just like caffeine, but the effect is much much weaker.
So what is a chocoholic to do? Being one myself, I follow 3 principles:
1. Eat real chocolate (and dark ones), not things with artificial chocolate flavor.
2. Eat a small amount.
3. Watch the whole diet, so that the sugar and fat from the chocolate does not add excess calories.
Happy Valentine's Day and enjoy the chocolate!
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