Re: About Chocolate

[Guest guest]

I have read that at least one chocolate maker has been working on a healthy

version so they can eventually make health claims. Don't

think they're ready for prime time yet, but it's in the works.

JR

-----Original Message-----

From: Francesca Skelton [mailto:fskelton@...]

Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2005 4:28 PM

support group

Subject: [ ] About Chocolate

By Tallmadge

Is it true that a chocolate a day will keep the doctor away? That's what

some candy lovers are reading in Valentine's Day promotional material.

[Guest guest]

--- In , " " <crjohnr@b...>

wrote:

> I have read that at least one chocolate maker has been working on a

healthy version so they can eventually make health claims. Don't

> think they're ready for prime time yet, but it's in the works.

That would be Mars, as mentioned in the article.

To learn more about their new products, now in

market testing, see http://www.cocoavia.com

-

[Guest guest]

> > I have read that at least one chocolate maker has been working on a

> healthy version so they can eventually make health claims. Don't

> > think they're ready for prime time yet, but it's in the works.

>

> That would be Mars, as mentioned in the article.

> To learn more about their new products, now in

> market testing, see http://www.cocoavia.com

I should like to note the bars in the above link are " guaranteed to contain

at least 100 mg of cocoa flavanols, " according to the site. Mars has a trade-

marked process called CocoaPro which they use to preserve more of the

naturally-occurring flavanoids that are lost in fermentation, roasting, etc..

This process is also used in their currently-existing consumer products

such as Dove Bars and M & Ms. You can look for the logo on the bag. Here

is their website for the process itself, with many fascinating links to

research:

http://www.cocoapro.com

The amount of flavanols in their commercial products likely do not rival

their specially-made CocoaVia bars, but I don't know if 100 mg is significant

either. According to the book _Chocolate Unwrapped: The Surprising Health

Benefits of America's Favorite Passion_ by Rowan sen, " remember that

even Dove Dark doesn't have nearly the cocoa content of the most serious

chocolates. "

For example, regarding Lindt, he has this to say, " This Swiss chocolate

giant--one of the largest chocolate companies in the world--makes a lot

of chocolates that seem dark until you taste real dark chocolate, but they

now make some very serious bars as well. Called 'Excellence,' these include

a 70% bar and a super-dark 85% bar that, since it uses the antioxidant-rich

forastero beans, may just be one of the healthiest bars on the plant. "

Enjoy,

-

[Guest guest]

>

> For example, regarding Lindt, he has this to say, " This Swiss chocolate

> giant--one of the largest chocolate companies in the world--makes a lot

> of chocolates that seem dark until you taste real dark chocolate, but they

> now make some very serious bars as well. Called 'Excellence,' these include

> a 70% bar and a super-dark 85% bar that, since it uses the antioxidant-rich

> forastero beans, may just be one of the healthiest bars on the plant. "

Of course, that's " planet " not " plant. "

[Guest guest]

--- In , " cronzen " <truepatriot@m...>

wrote:

> [Lindt] now make some very serious bars as well. >

Called 'Excellence,' these include a 70% bar and a super-dark 85%

> bar that, since it uses the antioxidant-rich

> forastero beans, may just be one of the healthiest bars on

> the planet.

>

Mmmm, well, here in Europe, I buy his top " chocolat " bar, that

is '99%' cocoa, 1% traces of sugar, nuts... That's just plain cocoa

and nothing more. I also use pure cocoa podwer half-fat for my 'hot'

chocolat drinks (only cocoa: 25% protein, 9.9% carbohydrates, 16%

fat, 31% fibre).

And you should be aware: there are some cheaper brands that really

fake you when speaking about the per cent cocoa in their bars,

because cocoa butter is legally permitted to figure in the label as

cocoa part for adding up to final % of cocoa, and it has no

flavonols. Well, I mean the issue here is to choose chocolate bars

having the most 'cocoa mass' in the ingredients (Ever being the first

and main ingredient...) because I have found some 75% cocoa chocolate

bars having 40% cocoa mass, 35% cocoa butter and 25% sugar... Then

you try the Lindt with " only " 70% cocoa (ingredients: cocoa 70%,

sugar, lecitin) and you really observe the difference... Of course,

if you only look at the number in the front of the bar, you are

blinded by the " 75% " giant golden letters.

Willie

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

And be aware also that many 'chocolate' products (including some from

Lindt) no matter how fancy the wrappers, or how high the price,

contain sizeable quantities of hydrogenated vegetable oils.

I was once given an easter product that said chocolate on the package

but contained ZERO cocoa product and was very nearly entirely

hydrogenated fats.

Yer gotta study the ingredient lists. And the subterfuge like that

described above sometimes causes me to wonder how accurate the

ingredient lists are.

Rodney.

>

>

> > [Lindt] now make some very serious bars as well. >

> Called 'Excellence,' these include a 70% bar and a super-dark 85%

> > bar that, since it uses the antioxidant-rich

> > forastero beans, may just be one of the healthiest bars on

> > the planet.

> >

>

>

> Mmmm, well, here in Europe, I buy his top " chocolat " bar, that

> is '99%' cocoa, 1% traces of sugar, nuts... That's just plain cocoa

> and nothing more. I also use pure cocoa podwer half-fat for

my 'hot'

> chocolat drinks (only cocoa: 25% protein, 9.9% carbohydrates, 16%

> fat, 31% fibre).

>

> And you should be aware: there are some cheaper brands that really

> fake you when speaking about the per cent cocoa in their bars,

> because cocoa butter is legally permitted to figure in the label as

> cocoa part for adding up to final % of cocoa, and it has no

> flavonols. Well, I mean the issue here is to choose chocolate bars

> having the most 'cocoa mass' in the ingredients (Ever being the

first

> and main ingredient...) because I have found some 75% cocoa

chocolate

> bars having 40% cocoa mass, 35% cocoa butter and 25% sugar... Then

> you try the Lindt with " only " 70% cocoa (ingredients: cocoa 70%,

> sugar, lecitin) and you really observe the difference... Of course,

> if you only look at the number in the front of the bar, you are

> blinded by the " 75% " giant golden letters.

>

> Willie

[Guest guest]

On Sun, 13 Oct 2002 13:12:07 -0230, Alan Pater <apater@...> wrote:

>

>Hi All, The attached the Tables oaf a paper on chocolate goodies.

It will

>look nice in the files of the list, I believe and it shows the data

for the

>paper described below. The PDF and HMLT are available. It has very

little

>caffeine in it. Excuse the spelling mistake in the title.

>

>Cheers, Al.

>

>

>Optimized method for simultaneous determination of catechin, gallic

acid,

>and methylxanthine compounds in chocolate using RP-HPLC

>Eur Food Res Technol (2002) 215: 340-346>

>

>Table 1. Flavanol contents of chocolate samplesa

>

> GA C EC EGC EGCG ECG Total

> Product Brand

catechin

> mg/g mg/g mg/g mg/g mg/g mg/g mg/g

> Milk chocolate =DClker L=FCx 0.82 0.57 0.11 0.10 2.09

0.56 =

>3.43

> Milk chocolate =DClker Balmond 0.45 0.51 0.46 0.16 1.72 0.73

3.58

>

> Dark chocolate =DClker Bitter 0.72 0.66 2.08 0.23 3.48 1.20

7.65

> Lux

> Milk chocolate Milka 1.19 0.72 6.23 0. 36 4.67 Nd

11.98

> Milk chocolate Alpella 0.45 0.41 0.69 0.10 1.67 Nd

2.87

> Milk chocolate Nestle Damak 0.44 0.55 1.90 0.09 1.69 Nd

4.23

>

> Dark sweet Nestle

> chocolate Classic 0.57 0.63 3.02 0.10 1.67 Nd

5.42

> Bitter

> Milk chocolate Nestle Crunch 0.37 0.11 0.93 0.05 0.91 Nd

2.00

>

> Milk chocolate Nestle 0.65 0.39 7.73 0.20 2.77 Nd

11.09

> Nesquik

> Milk chocolate Toblerone 1.36 0.71 8.39 0.39 5.40 Nd

14.89

> Milk chocolate Bounty 0.57 0.53 0.32 0.17 2.00 1.19

4.21

>

>aMean =B1 SE (n=3D3) (mg/g of chocolate samples of triplicate =

>determination).

>Nd, not determined; GA, gallic acid; C, catechin; EC, epicatechin;

EGC,

>epigallocatechin; EGCG, epigallocatechin gallate; ECG, epicatechin =

>gallate.

>

> [Occurence in main text] [This table in PDF]

>

> =

>---------------------------------------------------------------------

---

>

>Table 2. Methylxanthine contents of chocolate samplesa

>

> Caffeine Theobromine

Theophylline

> Product Brand © (TB) (TP)

> mg/g mg/g mg/g

> Milk chocolate =DClker L=FCx 0.63 1.67 0.04

> Milk chocolate =DClker Balmond 0.52 1.35 Nd

>

> Dark chocolate =DClker Bitter 0.79 1.93 0.05

> Lux

> Milk chocolate Milka 0.94 1.96 0.05

> Milk chocolate Nestle Damak 0.64 1.74 Nd

>

> Dark sweet Nestle

> chocolate Classic 0.46 1.38 0.04

> Bitter

> Milk chocolate Nestle Crunch 0.51 1.17 Nd

>

> Milk chocolate Nestle 0.87 1.33 Nd

> Nesquik

> Milk chocolate Alpella 0.59 1.26 Nd

> Milk chocolate Toblerone 0.71 1.89 0.08

> Milk chocolate Bounty 0.60 1.40 0.09

>

>aMean =B1 SE (n=3D3) (mg/g of chocolate samples of triplicate =

>determination).

>Nd, not determined.

>

> [Occurence in main text] [This table in PDF]

>

> =

>---------------------------------------------------------------------

---

>

>Table 3. Caffeine content in beverages and products US Food and Drug

>Administration and National Soft Drink Association [42]

>

> Caffeine

> Item

> Average Max. value

> Tea

> Brewed, major brand (3-min) 0.28 0.68

> Brewed, imported brands 0.43 0.78

> Instant 0.22 0.36

> Iced 0.20 0.23

> Coffee

> Brewed, drip method 0.82 1.28

> Brewed, percolator 0.57 1.21

> Instant 0.46 0.86

> Decaffeinated, brewed 0.02 0.04

> Decaffeinafed, instant 0.01 0.03

> Soft drinks

> Coca cola 0.13 0.18

> Diet Coke 0.13 0.18

> Pepsi Cola 0.11 0.18

> Diet Pepsi 0.11 0.18

> Shasta Diet Cola 0.13 0.18

> Chocolate and chocolate products

> Cocoa Beverage 0.03 0.14

> Chocolate milk beverage 0.02 0.03

> Milk chocolate 0.21 0.53

> Dark chocolate, semi-sweet 0.71 1.25

> Baker's chocolate 0.92 0.92

> Chocolate-flavored syrup 0.14 0.14

>

> [Occurence in main text] [This table in PDF

Hi All,

The below appears to add more information - that the

dark chocolate lowers good HDL cholesterol in the

blood independent more or less of the polyphenols,

it seems.

Free Radic Biol Med. 2004 Nov 1;37(9):1351-9.

Dark Chocolate Consumption Increases HDL Cholesterol

Concentration and Chocolate Fatty Acids May Inhibit

Lipid Peroxidation in Healthy Humans.

Mursu J, Voutilainen S, Nurmi T, Rissanen TH, Virtanen

JK, Kaikkonen J, Nyyssonen K, Salonen JT.

PMID: 15454274

Cocoa powder is rich in polyphenols and, thus, may contribute to

the

reduction

of lipid peroxidation. Our aim was to study the effects of long-term

ingestion

of chocolate, with differing amounts of polyphenols, on serum lipids

and

lipid

peroxidation ex vivo and in vivo. We conducted a 3 week clinical

supplementation

trial of 45 nonsmoking, healthy volunteers. Participants consumed 75 g

daily of

either white chocolate (white chocolate, WC group), dark chocolate

(dark

chocolate, DC group), or dark chocolate enriched with cocoa

polyphenols

(high-polyphenol chocolate, HPC group). In the DC and HPC groups, an

increase in

serum HDL cholesterol was observed (11.4% and 13.7%, respectively),

whereas

in

the WC group there was a small decrease (-2.9%, p < 0.001). The

concentration of

serum LDL diene conjugates, a marker of lipid peroxidation in vivo,

decreased

11.9% in all three study groups. No changes were seen in the total

antioxidant

capacity of plasma, in the oxidation susceptibility of serum lipids

or VLDL

+

LDL, or in the concentration of plasma F2-isoprostanes or hydroxy

fatty

acids.

Cocoa polyphenols may increase the concentration of HDL cholesterol,

whereas

chocolate fatty acids may modify the fatty acid composition of LDL

and make

it

more resistant to oxidative damage.

Cheers, Al Pater.

> > > I have read that at least one chocolate maker has been working

on a

> > healthy version so they can eventually make health claims. Don't

> > > think they're ready for prime time yet, but it's in the works.

> >

> > That would be Mars, as mentioned in the article.

> > To learn more about their new products, now in

> > market testing, see http://www.cocoavia.com

>

> I should like to note the bars in the above link are " guaranteed to

contain

> at least 100 mg of cocoa flavanols, " according to the site. Mars

has a trade-

> marked process called CocoaPro which they use to preserve more of

the

> naturally-occurring flavanoids that are lost in fermentation,

roasting, etc..

> This process is also used in their currently-existing consumer

products

> such as Dove Bars and M & Ms. You can look for the logo on the bag.

Here

> is their website for the process itself, with many fascinating

links to research:

> http://www.cocoapro.com

>

> The amount of flavanols in their commercial products likely do not

rival

> their specially-made CocoaVia bars, but I don't know if 100 mg is

significant

> either. According to the book _Chocolate Unwrapped: The Surprising

Health

> Benefits of America's Favorite Passion_ by Rowan

sen, " remember that

> even Dove Dark doesn't have nearly the cocoa content of the most

serious

> chocolates. "

>

> For example, regarding Lindt, he has this to say, " This Swiss

chocolate

> giant--one of the largest chocolate companies in the world--makes a

lot

> of chocolates that seem dark until you taste real dark chocolate,

but they

> now make some very serious bars as well. Called 'Excellence,'

these include

> a 70% bar and a super-dark 85% bar that, since it uses the

antioxidant-rich

> forastero beans, may just be one of the healthiest bars on the

plant. "

>

> Enjoy,

> -

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi All,

>

> The below appears to add more information - that the

> dark chocolate lowers good HDL cholesterol in the

> blood independent more or less of the polyphenols,

> it seems.

Actually, it says the reverse: " In the DC and HPC groups,

an increase in serum HDL cholesterol was observed (11.4%

and 13.7%, respectively), whereas in the WC group there

was a small decrease (-2.9%, p < 0.001). "

-

> Free Radic Biol Med. 2004 Nov 1;37(9):1351-9.

> Dark Chocolate Consumption Increases HDL Cholesterol

> Concentration and Chocolate Fatty Acids May Inhibit

> Lipid Peroxidation in Healthy Humans.

> Mursu J, Voutilainen S, Nurmi T, Rissanen TH, Virtanen

> JK, Kaikkonen J, Nyyssonen K, Salonen JT.

> PMID: 15454274

> Cocoa powder is rich in polyphenols and, thus, may contribute to

> the

> reduction

> of lipid peroxidation. Our aim was to study the effects of long-term

> ingestion

> of chocolate, with differing amounts of polyphenols, on serum lipids

> and

> lipid

> peroxidation ex vivo and in vivo. We conducted a 3 week clinical

> supplementation

> trial of 45 nonsmoking, healthy volunteers. Participants consumed 75 g

> daily of

> either white chocolate (white chocolate, WC group), dark chocolate

> (dark

> chocolate, DC group), or dark chocolate enriched with cocoa

> polyphenols

> (high-polyphenol chocolate, HPC group). In the DC and HPC groups, an

> increase in

> serum HDL cholesterol was observed (11.4% and 13.7%, respectively),

> whereas

> in

> the WC group there was a small decrease (-2.9%, p < 0.001). The

> concentration of

> serum LDL diene conjugates, a marker of lipid peroxidation in vivo,

> decreased

> 11.9% in all three study groups. No changes were seen in the total

> antioxidant

> capacity of plasma, in the oxidation susceptibility of serum lipids

> or VLDL

> +

> LDL, or in the concentration of plasma F2-isoprostanes or hydroxy

> fatty

> acids.

> Cocoa polyphenols may increase the concentration of HDL cholesterol,

> whereas

> chocolate fatty acids may modify the fatty acid composition of LDL

> and make

> it

> more resistant to oxidative damage.

>

> Cheers, Al Pater.