Chockfull
Chocolate lovers, rejoice! Soon we'll be eating chocolate — at least dark chocolate — per doctors' orders. And really, is any other chocolate as good? (and here my American friends will get up in arms because they do seem to have a predilection for milk chocolate).
A recent study on the Kuna people of Panama identifies their weekly consumption of 40 cups of cocoa as a possible major factor in the very low incidence of stroke, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. "The Kuna also appear to live longer than other Panama inhabitants and do not get dementia". Although "genes and other lifestyle factors also play a part", Dr. Norman Hollenberg of Harvard Medical School seems convinced that epicatechin, a flavonoid present in cocoa, is responsible. Are we to believe the good news?
Since I am no scientist, I looked around at other sources and found that even though flavonoids are ineffective as antioxidants because our bodies get rid of them quickly, the act of eliminating flavonoids from the body "… is inducing so-called Phase II enzymes that also help eliminate mutagens and carcinogens, and therefore may be of value in cancer prevention..." (quoted from the Wikipedia entry on flavonoids). For the other claims (heart disease, blood pressure, etc.), I guess we'll have to wait for more studies.
In the end, it all comes down to what we choose to believe, doesn't it? For me, the best explanation so far of why chocolate is good for you is in this delightful little book.
Chocolate: The Consuming Passion
by Sandra Boynton
108 pages
ISBN-10: 0894801996
ISBN-13: 978-0894801990
(My 1982 copy actually has a different ISBN: 0 413 51170 7)
The book profiles various chocolate lovers…
debunks many myths about chocolate…
offers facts backed by rigorous scientific research…
provides some provocative observations…
and practical tips.
If all this chocolate reading has wetted your appetite for cocoa-filled dishes, look around Mrs. Cornflower's blog; among the book reviews and flower photos, there are many food entries with chocolate as the main ingredient.
And if you are conscientious about where your chocolate comes from, these are some suppliers of organic chocolate:
Dagoba
Endangered Species
Green & Black's
Theo
Vere
There… now you can eat chocolate and feel good about it, too. Life is good.
Now, if only scientists would start conducting this kind of research on gelato.
Comments
An excellent post! I blogged about chocolate last week, too. Could it be the weather? Or spring? I just feel likee cramming chocolate in my mouth all the time... :-)
Posted by: MJ | March 12, 2007 10:42 AM
You have convinced me, I'm going to pick up a Green & Black's Dark Chocolate w/ crystallized ginger bar for lunch today.
Posted by: lucy | March 12, 2007 11:17 AM
We are very pro-dark chocolate at my house, which can get pricey. We just invested in the *10 pound* dark chocolate bar from Trader Joes ($20.00!). Much to the amusement of family and friends, wrangling a mammoth slab of chocolate is not an easy task. However, one friend who loves cooking bought me a "chocolate chipper", which looks like a small gardening tool with a straight line of sturdy tines. Using this formidable instrument, I now have 3 large ziploc bags full of giant chunks of chocolate.
I feel rich! There's nothing like having too much chocolate to improve my mood! We are sharing it with everyone we know. The kids are taking it to school to share. We are covering our world in chocolate! And we still haven't gotten through half of the first bag yet.
Thanks for a fun post; I love Boynton. At this moment I am drinking tea from my favorite mug, which has a picture by her, and the slogan,"I never met a carbohydrate I didn't like." Which says it pretty well for me. Except grits. Not fond of grits. Otherwise.....
Posted by: Beth | March 12, 2007 2:19 PM
Just pass the bar of Cadbury's, will you ;-)
Posted by: Marina | March 12, 2007 2:33 PM
I worked at Methuen when that book was published (though in a different department) and I remember the Rights Manager telling me that when she was approached by somebody for permission to reprint a part of the book, she took part payment in chocolate! The reason for the different ISBNs (413 was the original Methuen prefix) is that the company was broken up and sold off. Sad day.
Posted by: Brigid | March 12, 2007 3:36 PM
Thank you, Brigid, for explaining the ISBN number difference. Too bad the company went out of business.
Posted by: Francesca | March 12, 2007 3:46 PM
Did I ever mention how close to Hershey PA I live? Well, I used to be 10 minutes away now about 1 1/2 hours. Sometimes when driving through town you could just smell the chocolate. I actually enjoy the smell of chocolate more than the taste, and that's saying a lot.
Posted by: Barbp | March 12, 2007 6:23 PM
Guess what - the kind Mr. Cornflower has just gone out to buy some chocolate for me. I don't know what sort he's got (he says it's good). Health food!
Posted by: Karen | March 14, 2007 1:57 PM
OMG!
I got this book when I was 10.
I carried it around with me as my manifesto.
Haven't thought about it in years.
Thank you for bringing it back to me :-)
Love and Laughter,
Amy
Posted by: Amy | May 28, 2007 3:29 PM