Nutrition 202 – Superfoods
Nutritionists tend to talk in a lot of nutritional
terms like ‘carbs’, ‘protein’,
‘vitamins’ and ‘minerals’.
But we don’t eat vitamins and minerals
do we? We eat food! So in this current series,
I’ll be discussing those foods you hear
recommended all the time – things like
green tea, garlic, oily fish and more - explaining
just why they’re so good for you, how
much you should have and which superfoods you
should regularly include in your diet. This
month…
Chocolate
The Latin name for chocolate literally means
‘Food of the Gods’, and indeed,
it’s a favourite indulgence of many. The
rich creamy taste, the way it melts in your
mouth, and its association with celebrations
like Easter and Valentine’s Day all combine
to make chocolate one of the most popular comfort
foods known.
The cacao tree is native to tropical America,
where the Aztecs and Maya revered chocolate
even more than we do today, and are known to
have used cacao beans as currency. The large
cacao pods contain up to 50 beans which must
be fermented and roasted before attaining a
rich chocolatey flavour. Cocoa fat - more than
50 percent of the bean - is rendered off and
the remaining powdered residue is cocoa. In
1502 Columbus brought cacao beans back to Spain,
though its popularity only really took off when
it was mixed with sugar. It was the Swiss who
later introduced the world to milk chocolate,
in 1876.
Why it's good
If you’ve experienced first hand chocolate’s
mood-boosting properties, you weren’t
imagining it. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine
(PEA), reputed to be the same chemical your
body produces when you’re in love.
But the latest research is focusing on chocolate’s
antioxidant content, including flavonoids and
polyphenols. By weight, chocolate has more antioxidants
than most fruits, vegetables, tea or wine. According
to Cornell University, a small bar of dark chocolate
contains as many antioxidants as a glass of
red wine. Cocoa is also rich in vitamins B1,
B2 and D, plus minerals including calcium, magnesium,
iron and copper.
Dozens of studies have examined the health
benefits of the antioxidants in chocolate, including
reduced cholesterol, reduced oxidation of LDL
(‘bad’) cholesterol, reduced blood
clotting, improved exercise tolerance, improved
cognition and brain activity in animals, and
even destruction of cancer cells.
A recent University of Cologne study found
that people with high blood pressure eating
a square of dark chocolate every day experienced
a reduction in average blood pressure without
any increase in weight.
How to eat it?
In moderation. Yes, chocolate has some outstanding
health benefits, but can also be high in sugar,
fat and caffeine. Studies have shown health
benefits with consumption of just one square
of dark chocolate a day, so there’s no
rationale for eating the whole bar!
Choose dark. Dark chocolate now outsells milk
chocolate in the UK - previously unimaginable
- because higher cocoa content means higher
antioxidants. Dark chocolate has twice the antioxidants
of milk chocolate.
Choose organic. Cocoa plantations are susceptible
to disease and insects so are heavily doused
with pesticides.
Choose fair trade chocolate too. Many plantations
use children, slave labourers or people on unbelievably
low wages to work the cacao trees. Buying fair
trade chocolate provides farmers with a decent
wage and thus allows communities to thrive with
schools, clean water and food. So help yourself
and your body to organic fair trade chocolate,
help others and our environment in the process,
and truly savor and enjoy, because you’re
doing a good thing!
Did you know?
While nothing to do with chocolate, HG Wells’
science fiction classic Food of the Gods, written
in 1904, is an interesting cautionary tale with
some modern day parallels with GM food. The
back sleeve reads: ‘Not only animal and
plant giants but human giants too. And all the
result of an unfortunate accident - a slip that
released the Food of the Gods to an unsuspecting
world. Such was the power of the Food that no
one could control it: almost everything that
came into contact with it began to grow - and
kept on growing. The problems grew worse when
those who had avoided the Food began to think
the Giants were threatening them. So the Little
People went to war. It was a case of eat, destroy,
or be destroyed…’ It’s a fascinating
read if you can find a copy.
Shane Heaton
Nutritionist
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