Antioxidant-Rich Dark ChocolateWhere Does Dark Chocolate Come From?
Good Chocolate vs. Bad Chocolate,...What Is The Difference? History of Cacao In around 1500 B.C., the Mayans and the peoples before them, the Olmec culture, discovered the health benefits of dark chocolate. The chocolate bean was used by these ancient people in the Americas as the main ingredient in a bitter beverage for its nutrient properties and its ability to energize and give them more stamina. It was also used to treat stomach and intestinal complaints, infections, fever and cough. In the Aztec language, this drink which we now call chocolate was called "xocolatl", which means “bitter water”. It was most likely the Spaniards who discovered that mixing the bitter dark chocolate base with sugar and a variety of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and the like, proved to be more suited for the European palate. European settlers brought this new, sweeter chocolate concoction to the Americas. Our love affair with chocolate continues today, though the sweet cocoa confections we enjoy today don't bear much resemblance to the bitter Meso-American brew of yesteryear. 
Where Do They Grow Dark Chocolate?Cacao was first cultivated in South America, but today is primarily a West African crop. The harsh, West African environment of the Ivory Coast, produces the highest ORAC value cacao available today. An average cacao tree reaches about 20 feet into the sky. While the tree may have more than 6,000 pink blooms, only about 30 of them contain the red/brown pods that actually contain cacao beans. What are Some of the Its Health Benefits?
Is There Such A Thing As Good Chocolate vs. Bad Chocolate?There are a lot of ingredients which are added to chocolate which negatively impacts our health. One of the primary ones is sugar. Sugar is an oxidant which not only makes your immune system work harder, it causes diabetes, premature aging and other serious diseases. Studies show that adding milk to chocolate cancels out most of its health benefits. In addition, researchers have found that commercial chocolate can be contaminated with extremely high quantities of the toxic metal lead. Raw chocolate is chocolate that has not gone through any sort of heating or processing, so all of the nutrients (antioxidants) are still intact. Is Dark Chocolate High in Antioxidants? Yes! Cacoa powder (dark chocolate) is the highest-rated antioxidant food source-much greater than red wine or green tea. The ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) scale used by the USDA measures the antioxidant capacities of different foods. Unprocessed cocoa powder is number one and has an ORAC value of 26,000 per 100 grams (3.5 ounces). Number two on the list is Acai Berry with an ORAC value of 18,500 per 100 grams, along with blueberries and lots of other natural ingredients. What do these numbers mean? "Darker is better." Dark fruits like blueberries, grapes, raspberries, blackberries and acai berries are loaded with antioxidants, as are green, leafy vegetables like spinach. The Chocolate Manufacturers Association says dark chocolate contains eight times the number of polyphenol antioxidants found in strawberries.
Information on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. Return from Dark Chocolate to Antioxidants-For-Life.com HOME
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