Chocolate and health

[Jack_Brien]

Chocolate.

The dark truth about chocolate

[Keto6468]

Say it ain’t so…the chocolate I eat is not much of a treat. Very dark and bitter. I like to think it is at least doing some good.

K

[Alpha]

My heart pulse launches like a rocket when I consume black choclate (90%) and my bg goes up.

I do not know if exists choclate with zero carb.

[Jack_Brien]

You just have to eat 12 bars a a day

[Jack_Brien]

There’s 0 sugar chocolate, or make your own

[Keto6468]

Like the extreme dark cocoa powder?

K

[Alpha]

Very good idea

I never thought of it

I do not know about the racing heart pulse but I will give it a shot

[Jack_Brien]

I’ve just bought a bloody kilo of the stuff to make solid Easter eggs with!

[1964Hall]

I feel better when I eat my cacoa powder and nibs and 90% dark choc.
Gonna be a messy fight to take them away from me.
I’ve read thr report and will take the risk.

\v/

[SecondBreakfast]

Its not really a “health food” in the more popular (sugar-loaded) forms…but Cacao, with the least amount of processing, is kind of healthy. Bars aren’t exactly tasty at 90% content. nor are the nibs - but they can be nice for munching, if you can cope with the astringent taste. In its natural form, cacao (not processed cocoa), contains quite a few compounds- caffeine (0.1% to 0.7%), theobromine (the feel-good compound), tannins, phospholipids, polyphenols, and flavenols. The list goes on, but its really the flavenols that are high in antioxidants that seem to excite the research community the most- mainly because research does reveal a strong correlation between reduction of free radicals, lowering BP, improved circulation, etc.
Like a lot of the foods we eat, the more processing, the less health bennies. Fermentation, Dutch processing, roasting…all diminish and nearly eliminate the health benefits by killing/eliminating the flavonoids.
You can take the un-dutched cacao powder, blend with avocados and a little sweetener to create a chocolate pudding. That would pretty healthy. Or, artisan bar made from (relatively) unharmed cacao, experiment with eutectics and increase your fat intake, and make some low carb meltaways. The types of LC sweeteners out there are plentiful. Stevia, Sweet-n-low, whatever rocks your socks - you can add in if need be. But, the addition of coconut oil to the cocoa butter in the chocolate bar, and maybe some PB, is truly amazing. Coconut oil is a lauric fat, not exactly compatible with the cocoa-butter, so when you mix them and add in some PB or other nut paste, you get this kind of weird but amazing feeling in your mouth as it melts. Its very satisfying. Cocoa butter and coconut oil melt at lower temps than other fats, so, that is what accounts for the weird/cool feeling when you eat a meltaway. That was a segue. (Sorry.) But, like most foods, the less cacao is fooled with, the better.
If you’re really into learning about it and wish to drop a few dimes to learn more, Peter Greweling does a fantastic job dissecting the many aspects of cacao, chocolate and confections in his book, Chocolate and Confections: Formula, Theory and Technique. (Page 25 gives a nice summary regarding the health benefits - both real and perceived.) Or Amanochocolate.com gives a nice treatment of the various compounds too.

[1964Hall]

Thankswill take a read.
I prefer my 90% chocolate.
Also make a almond milk shake with, cacoa nibs and 100% cacoa powder. A little stevia and vanilla to taste and Im very happy.
\v/

[collaroygal]

Me having my chocolate fat bombs makes life healther for anyone living within miles of me.
No one wants to see me without my choco treats and you really do not want to try and take them away from me.

[Capnbob]

The list goes on, but its really the flavenols that are high in antioxidants that seem to excite the research community the most- mainly because research does reveal a strong correlation between reduction of free radicals, lowering BP, improved circulation, etc.

The article initially quoted is calling BS on these claims given that so much of it has been very marginal studies funded by the candy industry. Same with green tea catechins etc. where there may be an abstract benefit of a compound in a mouse but at the volume consumed in something like chocolate, the negatives massively outweigh any vague and often spurious theoretical benefit.

The point is not to fool ourselves that chocolate that tastes nice does us any good beyond the yum or personal psych benefits. The best we can hope for is that it doesn’t do us (much) harm.

[Bellyman]

The best we can hope for is that it doesn’t do us (much) harm.

I’m good with that.

[SlowBurnMary]

Everyone has their own scenario for ongoing body recomposition and brain rebalancing at the end of the day and at special events. I think there’s really something to the old phrase “Vivre un peu…!” in French - “Live a Little!”, with different configurations depending on one’s history and present health. To have “Gusto!” in Italian means not just “taste” but also to enjoy, to savor - and “Apprezzare!” to relish, appreciate. It’s a fact of life that we’re all gonna die - and we all have loved one’s who’re no longer on the planet - so, I try to incorporate that into my food appreciation - esp on OMAD days. What it means to me personally is that I do aspire to enjoy simple pleasures in LCHF/keto-minded ways, and this includes a tiny bit of bittersweet chocolate weekly - my negotiation of things, as the darker chocolates don’t appeal to me nearly as much.

Regardless of whether small amounts of chocolate has enough antioxidants to be of benefit, the CNS stimulants can be lovely post-meal in keto-sized portions - caffeine and theobromine, caffeine’s chemical cousin. Chocolate alone supports the instant brain chemistry of ‘being in love’ - it’s also the same brain chemistry that happens in certain kinds of mind-body practices and spiritual fasting/endurance experiences, without all the effort, lol. Neurochemically speaking, chocolate can be an emotional lifesaver for those ketoers “In The Struggle” (ie, having few other luxuries or privileges and/or navigating poverty or hard times or solitary living) before becoming fully fat adapted and accessing the natural physiological benefits of protein-based metabolic PEA (phenylethylamine) production. Chocolate increases serotonin - enhancing mood - and can be a nice treat at a candlelit table… It’s unique in its very small but QUICK delivery of PEA directly into the bloodstream - a shortcut to boost PEA and create a neurological pick-me-up rather than the usual longer route of PEA production via digestion of typical keto foods like meats, cheeses, etc. PEA is a potent antidepressant - and triggers the release of pleasurable opium-like compounds known as endorphins. We all have personal histories with how much PEA we experienced gestationally depending on our mothers’ stress levels and support - and also in the formative first year of life/bonding. So, some folks may need - or benefit from - more PEA assistance in their early keto journey than others. PEA also potentiates the activity of dopamine, a neurochemical directly associated with feelings of pleasure, and sexual/spiritual energy_.

In the LCHF/keto way of life - the natural levels of biological PEA that the body is able to make via keto foods eventually rise to the point of freeing us from chocolate/cocoa cravings, and rendering chocolate as more of a foodie taste sensation in relation to certain meals. I know for myself, I had LOTS of chocolate taste craving my first 6 months or so of keto - but upon becoming fully fat adapted, chocolate just became a nice treat to remember to savor once in awhile - not anything compulsive or desperate. I chalk this up to the body having a ton more of its own PEA now - which is a huge blessing.

The idea of having a little something “sweet” as part of the palate’s experience at one’s main meal goes back to pre-sugar industry days, days when people had more natural palates perhaps. In ancient Indian ayurveda, the principle of the 6 tastes of the palate is connected to brain function and whole body health (salty, sweet, bitter, sour, astringent, pungent). As to what “sweet” may be for a meal, it really depends on what you’re eating. If you’re eating chillies, sweet may be perfectly toasted shredded dry coconut - or some fresh coconut or an erythritol sweetened rose dessert or turmeric-xylitol cookie or some other luxurious keto dessert. Yummy yum yum. If you’re eating creamy and/or garlicky yummy Italian with a bit of wine, there’s nothing like a square of lower-carb chocolate to balance that out on the palate. I recently found the German chocolate company Ritter’s makes a lovely bittersweet chocolate which is only 7g carbs per ounce, which is two small squares. Double the serving fun of my previous Trader Joe’s bittersweet.

For those with food addictions though, imho there’s no point in having any chocolate in the house until one’s gotten fully fat adapted (may take up to a year or two in some deranged metabolisms) and one’s own body is producing plenty of PEA so that one is in control of the chocolate rather than the other way around A time or two in my early months of keto I overdid cocoa powder w/ stevia (excess stevia is Headache City for me) and I also learned through experience that in sweeter chocolates, the one tiny square is REALLY the serving. Otherwise, one will not feel as fab as one likes to feel the next morning…

[IF_keto_lifestyle]

a square of 90% chocolate, 2 tbls of cream cheese in the microwave to stir and melt the chocolate and 2 tbls of coconut. Heaven.

[1964Hall]

Doubled up on my 90% quota over last few days. 4 squares a day, with handful of sunflower seeds. Maybe my intake is creeping up a bit, but Im okay with it for tht moment.
\v/

[Brunneria]

Oh FFS!
Is nothing sacred?

That whole thing is nonsense (although I do admit to a teensy bias on this subject).

Firstly, one of the studies quoted gave some ppl choc and some ppl ‘a placebo’.

What!?!?!
Utter codswallop!

Who are the brain dead, palate challenged numpties who can’t tell when they are being given ‘pretend’ choc?
The whole thing is absurd.

Anyway, here is my bias:
I have given up almost all carbs
I have given up tea, coffee, most artifical sweeteners
Recently given up fruit and veg
That covers almost everything except animal products

My way of eating now consists of 98% carnivore and 2% superb quality chocolate, water, and one drink of coffeesubstitute a day.

Try taking my chocolate away, and you will discover a whole world of suffering - and it won’t be me doing the suffering.

strops off muttering malevolently

[Jack_Brien]

Who are the brain dead, palate challenged numpties who can’t tell when they are being given ‘pretend’ choc?

That’ll be the ones eating Cadburys

[Brunneria]