Andreas Moritz
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 The finest plain dark chocolate contains at least 70% cocoa (solids and butter), whereas the most expensive milk chocolate usually contains about 50% cocoa. High-quality white chocolate contains around 30% cocoa. Most mass-produced chocolate contains as little as 7 percent cocoa and fats other than cocoa butter. These "chocolate" products have little to do with chocolate because of the low or virtually non-existent cocoa content.
The chocolate that most people consume is relatively inexpensive. |
Donna Jackson Nakazawa
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 The best way to consume cocoa is to add plain cocoa powder—preferably non-Dutched cocoa; Dutched cocoa is treated with an alkali during processing—into chili or other Southwestern recipes, thus avoiding the sugar in chocolate bars. If you eat chocolate, make sure it's dark or extra dark chocolate with 60 to 80 percent cocoa solids and that it has low sugar content.) Small red beans, kidney beans, and black beans are also packed with antioxidants.
Antioxidants can also be found in supplement and vitamin form. |
Andreas Moritz
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| These "chocolate" products have little to do with chocolate because of the low or virtually non-existent cocoa content.
The chocolate that most people consume is relatively inexpensive. Production costs can be decreased by reducing cocoa solid content or by substituting cocoa butter with a non-cocoa fat. The announcement by Mars and other candy producers that "chocolate is good for your heart" applies only to a tiny fraction of the chocolates sold, and therefore is misleading. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
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 Fat (5%)
Biogenic amine: including phenyl ethyl amine, tyramine, tryptamine, serotonin
Catechin tannins: among them, proanthocyanidins
EFFECTS: cocoa SEED COAT
Cocoa can cause constipation. cocoa contains methylxanthines, which have a diuretic, bronchyolitic, and vasodilatory effect. They also improve cardiac muscle performance and act as a muscle relaxant. |
Andreas Moritz
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| Production costs can be decreased by reducing cocoa solid content or by substituting cocoa butter with a non-cocoa fat. The announcement by Mars and other candy producers that "chocolate is good for your heart" applies only to a tiny fraction of the chocolates sold, and therefore is misleading. The health claims made are part of a clever marketing campaign to sell more chocolate of any kind, knowing well that most people buy the cheapest chocolate available. |
Joerg Gruenwald, Ph.D.
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| Theobroma Cacao
Cocoa
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the seed skins that remain after making cocoa and cocoa butter; the seeds which have been partly freed from their skins and lightly roasted; and the raw, dried, unroasted seeds.
Flower and Fruit: The inflorescences are on the main trunk and thicker branches on a so-called "flower cup." The cyme-like branchlets are short, noded and persistent. There are 5 sepals, which are narrow. The petals are cap-shaped and stemmed with flag-like laminas. |
| Cocoa and cocoa products can cause allergic reactions. Large dosages lead to constipation due to the tannin content. The amines can trigger migraine attacks. cacao oleum
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages. dosage cacao oleum
Mode of Administration: cocoa Butter is used as a pharmaceutical base for suppositories and vaginal globules. It is an additive for ointments and cosmetic preparations, such as skin creams and lip balms.
Storage: Store in a cool, dark place. literature cacao semen
Naturw R, 49:481. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
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| Cocoa
Theobroma cacao description
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the seed skins that remain after making cocoa and cocoa butter; the seeds which have been partly freed from their skins and lightly roasted; and the raw, dried, unroasted seeds.
Flower and Fruit: The inflorescences are on the main trunk and thicker branches on a so-called "flower cup." The cymelike branchlets are short, nodded, and persistent. There are 5 sepals, which are narrow. The petals are cap-shaped and stemmed with flaglike laminas. The stamen tube, with 5 fertile stamens and 5 awl-shaped staminoids, is short. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 The next ingredient is cocoa extract, and cocoa extract is a smart ingredient in the Trim Spa recipe (the people who formulated this certainly know what they're doing). cocoa extract makes you feel good by boosting serotonin levels in your brain. It's one of the reasons people have late night chocolate cravings -- when they eat that chocolate, they actually feel better through biochemistry. Chocolate, by the way, is a medicinal herb from the rain forest. |
Donna Jackson Nakazawa
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| Some drinking straws carry the warning on the label "not for hot beverages" for good reason: if you put that straw into a boiling cup of hot cocoa, you are creating something akin to a hot-water extraction technique—not unlike that used in labs to help isolate and draw out chemicals—causing the chemicals in the straw to be jettisoned directly into your yummy cup of cocoa. |
Joerg Gruenwald, Ph.D.
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| The cocoa fat is squeezed out at a temperature of 70°C to 80°C and allowed to cool.
Other Names: Cacao, Chocolate Tree
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY compounds: cacao semen
Purine alkaloids: main alkaloid theobromine (2.8 to 3.5%) with less caffeine (0.1-0.4%)
Fat (50%)
Proteins
Biogenic amines: including phenyl ethyl amine, tyramine, tryptamine, serotonin
Catechin tannins
Proanthocyanidins Oxaluric acid effects: cacao semen
Cocoa seeds can cause constipation because of the tannin content. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
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| COCOA BUTTER
Mode of Administration: cocoa Butter is used as a pharmaceutical base for suppositories and vaginal globules. It is an additive for ointments and cosmetic preparations, such as skin creams and lip balms.
Storage: Store in a cool, dark place. literature
Brown JP. A Review of the Genetic Effects of Naturally Occuring Flavonoids, Anthraquinones and Related Compounds. Mutation Res. 1980; 75:243-277.
Hansel R, Keller K, Rimpler H, Schneider G (Hrsg.), Hagers Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, 5. Aufl., Bde 4-6 (Drogen): Springer Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1992-1994. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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 The Aztecs were the first to prepare cacao as the delicous cocoa beverage enjoyed around the world today. cocoa was the "love tonic" of Montezuma II, who is reputed to have drunk some fifty cups daily before visiting his harem of six hundred women. In 1502 the returning crew of Columbus brought cacao beans back to Europe, and in 1550 nuns came up with the idea of adding sugar and vanilla, leading to what we now regard as chocolate. Most commercial chocolates today, however, have a low cacao content and contain sugar and hydrogenated oil. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 We also use a decaffeinated redwood cocoa. It's a lighter-colored cocoa. We tried several different ones, and we found that children really took to the redwood cocoa, which is light in color. Those three things make up the top three ingredients.
Mike: They really work, because the first thing I did when I stopped by your booth here was to say, "Give me a taste."
Burt: You wanted to try it with some water too to see how it tasted.
Mike: That's right. If it doesn't pass my taste test, then I'm not even going to talk about the product. This was delicious just in water. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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| The Aztecs were the first to prepare cacao as the delicous cocoa beverage enjoyed around the world today. cocoa was the "love tonic" of Montezuma II, who is reputed to have drunk some fifty cups daily before visiting his harem of six hundred women. In 1502 the returning crew of Columbus brought cacao beans back to Europe, and in 1550 nuns came up with the idea of adding sugar and vanilla, leading to what we now regard as chocolate. Most commercial chocolates today, however, have a low cacao content and contain sugar and hydrogenated oil. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 Flavonoids in cocoa Prevents Clogged Arteries
Cocoa is loaded with compounds called flavonoids, which are also found in cranberries, apples, strawberries, onions, tea, and red wine, placing chocolate in excellent company. There are more than 4,000 of these flavonoids in the plant kingdom. In plants, flavonoids provide important protection like shielding from environmental toxins, and when we consume plant-based foods that are rich in flavonoids, we also get a lot of the same benefits the plant gets. |
| The fat in chocolate is from cocoa butter and actually contains three different kinds of fat. One of them is oleic acid, which is the same kind found in olive oil—a very heart-healthy fat. The second is stearic acid, which has a neutral effect on the body. The third kind, palmitic acid, is probably not the best kind of fat to be eating large amounts of, but it really only accounts for a third of the fat in chocolate, and if you keep your portions small, you won't be taking in a lot. Remember, though, that cocoa in t3 m o
> o
O o in butter is expensive. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
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| After removal of the germ-roots and the shell from the seeds, the seeds are removed from the shell and crushed. The cocoa fat is squeezed out at a temperature of 70° C to 80° C and allowed to cool.
Other Names: Cacao, Chocolate Tree actions and pharmacology
COMPOUNDS: cocoa SEED
Purine alkaloids (3 to 4%): main alkaloid theobromine (2.8 to 3.5%), with a lesser amount of caffeine (0.1 to 0. |
Erich Grotewold
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 It has been demonstrated that the major flavonoids of cocoa, epicatechin and catechin, protect PC 12 cells from ApMnduced neurotoxicity, and suggest that cocoa may have an anti-neurodegenerative effect in addition to other known chemopreventive effects (Heo and Lee, 2005a).
An ester of catechin, 3-0-octanoyl-(+)-catechin (OC), was synthesized from (+)-catechin by the incorporation of an octanoyl chain into catechin in the light of (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). |
Gary Null and Amy McDonald
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 High cocoa Polyphenol Rich Chocolate Improves the Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue. Sathyapalan T; et al. Endocrine Abstracts, 2006,12:68.
In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, patients who received high cocoa polyphenol rich chocolate, 15 g three times a day, showed improved scores on the Chandler Fatigue Scale and improved residual function as measured by the London Handicap Scale. In addition, two patients were able to go back to work after suffering with CFS for two years. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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 Dark chocolate, with 70 percent cocoa or more, also known as bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, contains little or no added sugar and is made from cocoa butter, which has a neutral or even beneficial effect on cholesterol. Dark chocolate is also made without the use of hydrogenated or partially hydro-genated oils, which have a negative impact on cholesterol.
Dark chocolate decreases LDL cholesterol oxidation, reduces the risk of blood clots, increases blood flow in arteries, and may even lower blood pressure. It may or may not have a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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| Saw palmetto berries also can be mixed with cocoa butter and used as a bolus to treat uterine or vaginal problems.
Edible Uses
Native Americans of the southern United States, especially the Seminole, have long used the berries as a food source. They have also used them to create a fermented beverage that was considered a love tonic. Animals that eat the berries grow plump. The "hearts" at the base of the leaf stalks can be cut out and eaten raw. The bases of the terminal buds can also be prepared as a vegetable. |
Michael Pollan
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 The American Heart Association currently bestows (for a fee) its heart-healthy seal of approval on Lucky Charms, cocoa Puffs, andTrix cereals, Yoo-hoo lite chocolate drink, and Healthy Choice's Premium Caramel Swirl Ice Cream Sandwich—this at a time when scientists are coming to recognize that dietary sugar probably plays a more important role in heart disease than dietary fat. Meanwhile, the genuinely heart-healthy whole foods in the produce section, lacking the financial and political clout of the packaged goods a few aisles over, are mute. |
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