Why is Cocoa Illegal? (Repost)

[Guest guest]

Courtesy of Ferna, we have the following information, which she

originally posted on 9 March 2009:

From Elaine's Website, " Elaine writes with great

finality:

We did a whole week on chocolate a while back and it is somewhere in my

files but someone else can report on it or look it up on a search engine.

I am sick and tired of chocolate - it is not permitted and until I get an

accurate analysis of every ingredient in the chocolate, per se, I am too

busy right now to give this illegal commodity any more

time. "

I can see why Elaine was a tad exasperated, considering there are about

300 chemicals in ONE cocoa bean, that she would have to find the time to

analyze.

According to " Chemicals in Cocoa Beans " at

http://coffee-chocolate.tripod.com/chemicals.htm:

Chemical Breakdown of a Cocoa Bean

Fat: 40 - 50%

Albuminous Matter (Protein): .06 - 18%

Starch: 1.3 - 7.5%

Ash: 2.0 - 4.0%

Theobromine: .88 - 2.34%

Caffeine: .05 - 0.36%

Various Trace Materials: 17.8% - 49.77%

Although chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is currently being touted

as good for the general public, starch is a SCD illegal and

" Theobromine (among other effects) can cause sleeplessness,

tremors, restlessness, anxiety, as well as contribute to increased

production of urine. Additional side effects include loss of

appetite, nausea, and vomiting " (according to the site referenced

above).

There are probably other reasons why chocolate, even in it's most native

form, is not SCD legal . . . but, this is all I had time to check

out.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

No arguments or complaints about chocolate being illegal. But I thought I read

somewhere that cocoa butter is okay. Is this true? If so, I'm going to try to

make some candy for my son for Christmas treats.

Thanks,

Liz

[Guest guest]

Yep.

Mara

> No arguments or complaints about chocolate being illegal. But I thought I

read somewhere that cocoa butter is okay. Is this true? If so, I'm going to

try to make some candy for my son for Christmas treats.

>

> Thanks,

> Liz

>

>

>

>

>

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

>

>

[Guest guest]

At 08:14 PM 12/7/2009, you wrote:

No arguments or complaints about

chocolate being illegal. But I thought I read somewhere that cocoa butter

is okay. Is this true? If so, I'm going to try to make some candy for my

son for Christmas treats.

Cocoa butter was never specifically approved for SCD. However, it is my

personal opinion that, just as corn oil can be legal, but not corn, and

just a butter can be legal, but not milk, the fat derived from the cocoa

bean MAY be legal.

I stress the MAY, because I have no authority to designate anything as

legal -- I can only give you my personal opinion.

Several members of this group, including myself, have tried things made

with cocoa butter, and have not experienced flares or other

ill-effects.

As always, should you try this product, be cautious and be prepared to

pull it if it causes a problem.

OK, all warnings aside, I intend to make my butter pecan satin, subbing

cocoa butter for butter and see what I get.....

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

Do you have any recipes you can share? I'm desperate to find something special

for my son's Christmas stocking. I figured out how to make an Almond Roca type

thing and it would be nice to coat it with a white chocolate type of coating.

Thanks,

Liz

[Guest guest]

Liz,I am not sure what type of cookie you are looking for. But I have one that I made up that the my kids adore. I call them Toffee Buttons.1 1/2 C almond flour1 C cashew ground to flour (measure slightly heaped first, then grind)1 large egg1/2 C butter softened3 medjool dates pitted and chopped1/4 tsp soda1/4 tsp salt1 TBSP vanilla extractNote: When I grind nuts, I use a mini chopper attachment that came with my stick/immersion blender. I grind about 1/2 cup at a time and pulse it so that I control how fine and stop it before it wants to begin making butter. Mix all dry ingredients together. In food processor (or your favorite way to puree) puree the butter and chopped dates. Then add the egg and vanilla processing a bit more. Mix well the wet into the dry

ingredients. Spoon onto prepared baking tray in 'teaspoon' size mounds (I use Pampered Chef's small scoop) about 1 inch apart. Bake in preheated 325 F oven for about 15 minutes. They should be spongy firm and lightly browned. You can eat them like this or dry them out in the oven at 160F for about 2 hours (I used my dehydrator though). When dried out they are this lovely combination of crisp cookie that finishes very slightly toffee chewy. Makes about 3 to 4 dozen (but it is never enough!) If you have a convection oven, reduce the temperature to 300F and you can bake 2 trays at once setting one rack slightly above center and the other slightly below center.AmeliaHusband UC 9 years, SCD 17 monthssoon to try LDN (this Thursday!)

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the recipe! I'll add it to my few cookie recipes.

I am also really hoping to find a candy recipe that uses cocoa butter to make a

white chocolate type candy or coating. My kids always get some candy in their

stockings and I don't want my son to be left out.

Thanks,

Liz

> I am not sure what type of cookie you are looking for. But I have one that I

made up that the my kids adore.  I call them Toffee Buttons.

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for the info on grapefruit juice, kombucha and chocolate! I still

don't see the reason why Cocoa itself (not chocolate) is illegal, is it mostly

because it is not known for sure to be a safe things to ingest while on SCD?

Lilian, whose favorite treat in Life Before SCD used to be raw cocoa-powder on

almond butter...:^)

>

>

> Courtesy of Ferna, we have the following

> information, which she originally posted on 9 March 2009:

>

>

> From Elaine's Website, " Elaine writes with great finality:

>

> We did a whole week on chocolate a while back and

> it is somewhere in my files but someone else can

> report on it or look it up on a search engine. I

> am sick and tired of chocolate - it is not

> permitted and until I get an accurate analysis of

> every ingredient in the chocolate, per se, I am

> too busy right now to give this illegal commodity any more time. "

[Guest guest]

At 10:03 PM 12/9/2009, you wrote:

why Cocoa itself (not chocolate)

is illegal, is it mostly because it is not known for sure to be a safe

things to ingest while on SCD?

It's got a whole slew of polysaccharides.

And I tried, believe me, I really, really, REALLY tried to come up with

an SCD-legal kind of chocolate. Got some great mixes with different kinds

of cocoa powder. Every single one of them made me sick as a

DAWG.

Tell yah somethin': every time I latched onto something and was going to

prove Elaine wrong, I ended up proving her right.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund