» Health benefits of chocolate
Zara Baker finds a way to enjoy chocolate over the festive season without the added sugar and fats
The chocoholic in all of us may rear its head over the festive period, as selection boxes and variety tins of sweet treats circulate among family. If you’re thinking of giving chocolate as a gift or even to buy to keep in your own household over Christmas, try choosing dark, organic and even raw chocolate, for a cocoa fix with a difference.
Since it emerged in the news a few years ago that eating chocolate is good for us – everyone with a sweet tooth rejoiced, not thinking twice about the sugar and added fats in their next Mars Bar. The news actually reported the health benefits of cocoa – chocolate in its raw, uncooked state, therefore, darker chocolate with a cocoa content of 75 percent being better for us. The news also led onto the idea that dark chocolate is rich and filling, being more bitter in taste than its sweeter, milk chocolate counterpart. As a result, you eat less of it, which is better news for the waistline.
Giving a dark, organic chocolate bar this Christmas such as Green & Blacks, may cost a little more, but it’s free of added chemicals, giving a greater taste.
In this season of goodwill, a fairtrade, organic option means you are supporting the fair chocolate trade, ensuring the lives of workers sourcing cocoa are not exploited.
One step further – but not to everyone’s taste – is chocolate in its raw form, available from most good health food shops and specialist raw chocolate companies. Raw food is cooked below 48°C. The raw food diet is a choice of life for many, while some of us just include raw food in a regular diet. Raw chocolate is the bean uncooked and natural, so all the nutrients are still there. It’s said to be richer in antioxidants than green tea, so a great excuse for the detox-conscious to indulge. With minimal packaging and no fat, milk or sugar added, raw chocolate is a chance to enjoy cocoa in its purest form. Its rich flavour may take some getting used to, and like with dark chocolate, a small slab is enough to satisfy for a long while.
It’s chocolate, but with a difference, and well worth a try. If cooked chocolate is preferred, choose organic and with a high cocoa content – there’s a variety of hot chocolate drinks and seasonal treats out there. Don’t skip out on indulging in chocolate – just choose a better option for your cocoa.
