Dark chocolate - is it just something the cocoa producers say to eat more without a bad conscience??
Is dark chocolate useful or is it just something the cocoa producers say to eat more without a bad conscience?
When talking about health related to diet, there are several aspects that come into play. How much vitamins / minerals there is in what you eat, how energy rich it is and whether it reduces / increases the risk of various diseases.
When it comes to what dark chocolate has for health benefits, you focus on the flavanols found in the cocoa bean. It is a type of antioxidant that, according to several studies (made on both humans and animals), has benign effects on blood vessels, blood supply, inflammation and blood pressure. However, the amount of flavanols in dark chocolate depends a lot on how much cocoa in the chocolate has been processed and the levels can therefore vary between 100-2000 mg / 100 g chocolate.
In addition to the above effects, an English research team has found that theobromine, which is abundantly present in cocoa, is three times as effective against cough as codeine, which is the active substance in many cough medicines.
The doctor Laszlo Sinkvist, at the Östertull health center in Norrköping, therefore recommends two cups of drinking chocolate or 50-100 grams of dark chocolate to his patients suffering from cough. However, this is not estimated by the Medical Association, which believes that more scientific reports are required to confirm these effects.
What can be a disadvantage with an increased chocolate intake is that the chocolate is very energy rich. 100g of dark chocolate can contain as much as 600 kcal, which is equivalent to almost 25-30% of an average active woman's recommended daily caloric intake. In addition, the chocolate contains many times a large proportion of saturated fat, in the worst case more than what is recommended / day.
If you start eating more chocolate in addition to your regular food, it can lead to an excess calorie. In the long term, this leads to being overweight, which is most likely to “zero” the positive effects the chocolate had from the beginning, as overweight brings with it increased risks of, for example, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
But provided the chocolate is consumed in moderation, it has only positive effects on health. Especially if you compare it with other things that are classified as sweets. First, dark chocolate has a lesser effect on blood sugar levels when compared to, for example, milk chocolate or plain candy, in other words a lower glycemic index.
This means that the carbohydrates are not absorbed as quickly and this contributes to a longer-lasting feeling of saturation, which in turn means that you do not eat as much. In addition, the dark chocolate contains some essential minerals, such as zinc, sodium, magnesium and ...
When talking about health related to diet, there are several aspects that come into play. How much vitamins / minerals there is in what you eat, how energy rich it is and whether it reduces / increases the risk of various diseases.
When it comes to what dark chocolate has for health benefits, you focus on the flavanols found in the cocoa bean. It is a type of antioxidant that, according to several studies (made on both humans and animals), has benign effects on blood vessels, blood supply, inflammation and blood pressure. However, the amount of flavanols in dark chocolate depends a lot on how much cocoa in the chocolate has been processed and the levels can therefore vary between 100-2000 mg / 100 g chocolate.
In addition to the above effects, an English research team has found that theobromine, which is abundantly present in cocoa, is three times as effective against cough as codeine, which is the active substance in many cough medicines.
The doctor Laszlo Sinkvist, at the Östertull health center in Norrköping, therefore recommends two cups of drinking chocolate or 50-100 grams of dark chocolate to his patients suffering from cough. However, this is not estimated by the Medical Association, which believes that more scientific reports are required to confirm these effects.
What can be a disadvantage with an increased chocolate intake is that the chocolate is very energy rich. 100g of dark chocolate can contain as much as 600 kcal, which is equivalent to almost 25-30% of an average active woman's recommended daily caloric intake. In addition, the chocolate contains many times a large proportion of saturated fat, in the worst case more than what is recommended / day.
If you start eating more chocolate in addition to your regular food, it can lead to an excess calorie. In the long term, this leads to being overweight, which is most likely to “zero” the positive effects the chocolate had from the beginning, as overweight brings with it increased risks of, for example, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
But provided the chocolate is consumed in moderation, it has only positive effects on health. Especially if you compare it with other things that are classified as sweets. First, dark chocolate has a lesser effect on blood sugar levels when compared to, for example, milk chocolate or plain candy, in other words a lower glycemic index.
This means that the carbohydrates are not absorbed as quickly and this contributes to a longer-lasting feeling of saturation, which in turn means that you do not eat as much. In addition, the dark chocolate contains some essential minerals, such as zinc, sodium, magnesium and ...
Comments
Post a Comment