Minggu, 21 Oktober 2012

Chocolate Good For Heart And Mood


The word chocolate comes from xocoatl (Aztec language) which means bitter drink. The Aztecs and the Maya in Mexico believe that the god of Agriculture has sent a chocolate that comes from heaven to them. Cortes took him to Spain between the years 1502-1528, and by the Spaniards bitter drink was mixed with sugar so it tastes better. Brown then spread to France, Holland and England. In the year 1765 chocolate factory was established in Massachusetts USA.

In the development of chocolate is not only a beverage but also become the preferred snack of children, adolescents, and adults. Besides it feels good, chocolate was efficacious to make life a person becomes longer. An epidemiological study was conducted at Harvard University students enrolled between the years 1916-1950. By using a food frequency questionnaire collected information on the habits of eating candy or chocolate at Harvard University students.

By controlling the physical activity, smoking, and eating habits found that those who love to eat candy / chocolate age older than one year are not eating. Allegedly phenol antioxidants contained in chocolate is the reason why they can outlive. Phenol is also found in red wine that is well known as a good drink for heart health. Brown has the ability to inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increase immune function, which can prevent the risk of coronary heart disease and cancer.

As long as there is the notion that chocolate causes dental caries and may also be responsible for the problem of obesity. Undeniable that obesity is a risk factor for degenerative diseases. But a study at Harvard University shows that if you balance the consumption of chocolate candy with enough physical activity and eating a balanced diet, then the negative effects of chocolate candy is not much to worry about.

According to the Mayan belief, chocolate is the food of the gods. Original taste bitter cocoa bean is actually due to the content of alkaloids, but after going through the engineering process can produce chocolate as the food was liked by everyone. Cocoa beans contain 31% fat, 14% carbohydrate and 9% protein. Chocolate is rich in protein amino acid tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine. Although chocolate contains high fat, but relatively easy to rancidity because chocolate also contains polyphenols (6%), which functions as an antioxidant deterrent.

In the United States, chocolate consumption contributes only 1% of the total fat intake as stated by the National Food Consumption Survey (1987-1998). This amount is relatively small, especially when compared to the contribution of meat (30%), cereals (22%), and milk (20%). Fat in chocolate, often called cocoa butter, mostly composed of saturated fat (60%), especially stearic. But the brown fat is a vegetable fat which does not contain cholesterol.

In research involving human subjects, it was found that the consumption of brown fat produces total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were lower than the consumption of butter or beef fat. So even though both contain saturated fat but the effect was produced different cholesterol. The high content of stearic acid is suppose to be the reason why chocolate brown fat is not as bad as animal fat. Have long known that stearic acid is neutral fat that will not trigger blood cholesterol. Why? Stearate apparently digested slowly by the body and is also absorbed less.

A third of the fat contained in chocolate is oleic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid. Oleic acid is also predominantly found in olive oil. Epidemiological studies in Mediterranean populations who consume lots of oleic acid from olive oil oleic concluded positive effect on heart health.
Often the question is how much we should mengkonsusmi chocolate? No definite recommendation for this nutrient, however, 2-3 times a week eating chocolate or drinking chocolate milk every day would still be acceptable. Principles of nutrition is actually easy to eat all foods in moderation. Nutritional problems generally arise when we eat too much or too little.

Eating chocolate will not cause addiction, but for some people a delicious chocolate may cause the desire to use them again. It's called a chocolate craving. The impact of chocolate on behavior and mood (mood) is closely associated with chocolate craving. Brown could miss because of its aroma, texture, sweet-bitter and so on. It is also often associated with the content of phenylethylamine which is a substance similar to amphetanine increased uptake of tryptophan into the brain which then in turn produce dopamine. Impact of dopamine is emerging feelings of pleasure and improved mood. Phenylethylamine is also considered to have aphrodisiac properties that gave rise to the feeling like people are in love (heart flowering). It is said that King Montezuma in antiquity always drunk chocolate before rotating harem different every night.

Catechins are powerful antioxidants contained in chocolate. One function of antioxidants is to prevent premature aging that can occur due to pollution or radiation. Catechins are also found in tea even though the number is not as high on chocolate. Parents often ancient practice with a water wash of tea because it can make facial skin glowing and youthful. If they know that chocolate contains catechins higher than tea, they might advocate a shower scrub with chocolate.

Chocolate also contains theobromine and caffeine. Both substances have been known to give effect to those who consume them awake. Therefore when we are dozing off at the airport or waiting for long queues, eating chocolate potent enough to make us excited again.

Chocolate products are quite diverse. For example, there is a mixture of milk chocolate sweet chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar and milk. There are also bitter chocolate which is a natural brown and contains 43% cocoa solids. This type of chocolate can be found in some products chocolate bars. Nutrient content of chocolate can be seen in the table.

NUTRITIONAL CONTENT PER 100 GRAM BROWN
Substance Bitter Chocolate Milk Chocolate Nutrition
Energy (Kal) 381 504
Protein (g) 9 5.5
Fat (g) 35.9 52.9
Calcium (mg) 200 98
Phosphorus (mg) 200 446
Vit A (SI) 30 60



There is no evidence that chocolate cause acne. Brown also can not be said to be the main causes of dental plaque as dental plaque can also occur in people who consume regular meals everyday. It's just chocolate should really pay attention, especially for people who are prone to suffer from kidney stones. 100 g chocolate consumption will increase excretion of calcium oxalate and tripled. Therefore healthy tips that can be recommended is drink plenty of water after eating chocolate. (Source: Ali Khomsan, http://kolom.pacific.net.id with necessary changes - Red)

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