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Speaking of chocolate, what do you think of? A Valentine's Day present? Super energy bar? Or do you get nosebleeds if you eat too much?

Recently, some foreign chocolate manufacturers have focused on its medicinal value, hoping that the authorities will approve them to add the words "good for cardiovascular health" to the outer packaging of chocolate. What's going on here?

The main raw material of chocolate is cocoa beans, hot, rainy environment is the most suitable for cocoa growth, it is mainly distributed in the equatorial latitude of less than 20 degrees, producing areas in Central and South America, West Africa and Southeast Asia.

(photo source: USAID-flickr) although the fate of cocoa in modern society is mainly to be made into chocolate candy, it has been given very important cultural and medicinal significance in the past.

Cocoa was seen by Aztec people living near Mexico hundreds of years ago as a panacea, whether it's fever or diarrhea, toothache or angina. A cup of hot cocoa can cure the disease and fill it up.

The Aztecs believe that cocoa is a gift from Kukurkan, the feathered serpent god who symbolizes the rainy season and harvest. Perhaps for this reason, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus named cocoa after the Latin Theobroma cacao. It comes from the ancient Greek words "theos" and "broma", that is, "God's food".

An Aztec woman on the left is pouring hot cocoa, while hot cocoa in the lower right corner is emitting an attractive aroma (photo source: wiki) as a food that has existed for thousands of years, in addition to myths and legends, scientific research around cocoa is becoming more and more perfect, and more and more studies show that cocoa does have many health benefits, of which flavanols are the most key ingredient.

Tea, red wine and many fruits and vegetables contain flavanols, but cocoa has the highest content. Flavanols have anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have found that flavanols can inhibit the synthesis of pro-inflammatory enzymes and effectively reduce the level of inflammatory markers. Flavanols also have antioxidant properties, and scholars believe that flavanols can protect neurons, enhance cognitive ability, and enhance positive emotions.

(photo Source: Michael Galpert-flickr) Obesity is the enemy of all mankind. It is associated with chronic inflammation, which begins in white adipose tissue and eventually develops into systemic inflammation. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of cocoa polyphenols (flavanols) make it possible to reduce metabolic diseases caused by obesity and reduce chronic inflammation.

Vascular endothelium is a monolayer cell that sets off the wall of blood vessels. Endothelial cells function to maintain vascular tension, angiogenesis, hemostasis and so on. Studies have shown that flavanols can improve endothelial function, maintain normal blood flow by reducing platelet adhesion, and help regulate blood pressure.

(photo source: see watermark) many chocolate manufacturers are interested in this and want to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to point out the relationship between cocoa and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease on chocolate packaging.

But FDA said that while there is evidence for the benefits of flavanols, current research has focused more on the relationship between cocoa powder or pure cocoa and cardiovascular disease than chocolate sweets with more fat and sugar.

If you want to eat enough flavanols, you are bound to eat more calories, which increases the likelihood of obesity and brings more risk to cardiovascular disease.

(photo: giphy) to reduce the extra calories, dark chocolate with higher flavanols is better, but flavanols are a bitter substance, so the purer the chocolate is, the more bitter it is.

In order to be approved by FDA, chocolate manufacturers have begun to increase the content of flavanols, some as much as 200mg per serving, to the ratio of "at least 4 per cent cocoa flavanols" recommended by FDA, but this kind of chocolate may be eaten by few people.

Many chocolate lovers say they would rather eat less sweet chocolate than try healthy and bitter pure dark chocolate.

(photo source: Food Network Canada-giphy) for them, chocolate brings all-round enjoyment. They care more about the smell they smell before putting chocolate in their mouths, the slow melting of chocolate on their tongues, and the unique taste of different chocolates.

"when eating chocolate, people just want to be happy and forget about health problems." So says nutrition scientist Christopher Christopher Gardner, a professor at Stanford University.

(photo: giphy) the University of the West Indies (University of the West Indies) Cocoa Research Center has the world's richest collection of cocoa. Darin Sukha, head of the flavor and quality department here, says that although the chocolates we buy from the mall taste the same, cocoa actually has a variety of aromas and flavors.

Suka is one of the world's leading researchers in the cocoa field, dedicated to exploring the unknown flavors of handmade chocolate.

If you also want to taste handmade chocolates with unique flavor like an expert, here are some little tips shared by Suka:

Vision: there are many kinds of cocoa, with colors ranging from red to dark brown.

Smell: cocoa contains more than 600 aromatic compounds, ranging from sour berries to sweet floral flavors. When you open the package of a bar of chocolate, you will smell it. After the chocolate melts on the tip of the tongue, the aroma from the pharynx becomes stronger.

Hearing: there will be a "pop" when you break the chocolate. from this crisp sound, you can know how the chocolate is heated and then cooled.

Touch: does the texture of chocolate feel smooth? Chocolate that is too smooth may be extra cocoa butter.

Taste: fill the taste buds with melted chocolate and you will first taste sour, followed by fruit and earthy flavors.

I don't expect chocolate to prolong my life.

Cover source: flickr

Reference:

[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/02/12/1156044919/chocolate-heart-health-flavanols

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_bean

[3] https://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2020/august/liam-corr-history-and-benefits-of-chocolate/

[4] Ramos í guez-Ramiro I, Ramos S, L ó pez-Oliva E, Agis-Torres A, Bravo L, Goya L, Mart í n MA. Cocoa polyphenols prevent inflammation in the colon of azoxymethane-treated rats and in TNF- α-stimulated Caco-2 cells. Br J Nutr. 2013 Jul 280110 (2): 20615. Doi: 10.1017/S0007114512004862. Epub 2012 Nov 28. PMID: 23186731.

[5] Grassi D, Desideri G, Ferri C. Protective effects of dark chocolate on endothelial function and diabetes. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2013 Nov;16 (6): 662-8. Doi: 10.1097/MCO.0b013e3283659a51. PMID: 24100673.

[6] Stote KS, Clevidence BA, Novotny JA, Henderson T, Radecki SV, Baer DJ. Effect of cocoa and green tea on biomarkers of glucose regulation, oxidative stress, inflammation and hemostasis in obese adults at risk for insulin resistance. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Oct;66 (10): 1153-9. Doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.101. Epub 2012 Aug 1. PMID: 22854880.

[7] Ali F, Ismail A, Kersten S. Molecular mechanisms underlying the potential antiobesity-related diseases effect of cocoa polyphenols. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2014 Jan;58 (1): 33-48. Doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201300277. Epub 2013 Nov 21. PMID: 24259381.

[8] https://www.fda.gov/media/165090/download?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

[9] https://www.npr.org/2021/02/08/965623691/how-to-savor-chocolate-like-a-cocoa-expert

This article is from the official Wechat account: bring Science Home (ID:steamforkids), author: everything.

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