Chocolate in the News

Objectives

• Discuss the different types of chocolate• Discuss potential health benefits of

chocolate• Discuss potential concerns of eating

chocolate • Evaluate how chocolate can fit into a

healthy diet.

What Is Chocolate?

• Chocolate is made from the ground seeds of the cacao tree.

• Used for thousands of years

• First made into drinks, today made into food as well

• One of the most popular flavors in the world

Where Does Chocolate Come From?

Cacao Tree with ripe fruit

Inside the fruit are the cocoa beans

Dried cocoa beans

Cocoa powder

Cocoa liquor

Dark Chocolate vs. Milk ChocolateWhat’s the Difference?

• Dark Chocolate—tastes semisweet• Cocoa liqueur, cocoa butter, sugar,

sometimes vanilla, no milk

• Milk Chocolate—tastes sweet• Milk, less cocoa liqueur, cocoa butter, sugar,

vanilla

What About Other Types of Chocolate?

• White Chocolate- made from some of the same ingredients

• Sugar, cocoa butter, milk, sometimes lecithin, sometimes vanilla, no chocolate liquor or cocoa powder

• With no cocoa liquor is it not technically considered chocolate

• For Cooking• Semisweet Chocolate• Bittersweet Chocolate

What Are Flavonoids and Flavonols?

• Flavonoids are a type of polyphenols

• More than 4,000 different flavonoids exist

• Naturally found in many different plant foods

• They provide certain health benefits- many act as antioxidants

• Flavonols are one type of flavonoid.

Potential Health Benefits of Chocolate

• Flavonoids decrease blood pressure in people with hypertension

• Flavonols decrease LDL “bad” cholesterol and increase HDL “good” cholesterol

• Dark chocolate consumption linked to improvement in insulin sensitivity

Potential Health Benefits of Chocolate

• Keeps blood platelets from clumping together

• Increases blood vessel flexibility

• Consuming antioxidant rich foods like chocolate decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease

Isn’t Chocolate High in Fat?

• Fat comes from the cocoa butter and is made of both saturated and unsaturated fat

• The saturated fat can have a negative health impact

• The unsaturated fat is a heart-healthy fat also found in olive oil- still high in calories

• Moderation is the key

How Much Chocolate?

• Dark chocolate is recommended because it has more of the heart healthy flavonols and flavonoids than milk chocolate.

• To receive the health benefits of chocolate, some studies have found you would need to eat about 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate per day.

Recent News

• New study found only 6 grams of dark chocolate necessary to show positive results

• About 1 and ½ Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Kisses (30 calories, 2 grams of fat, 4 grams of sugar)

• Decreased blood pressure in middle-aged men and women with slightly high blood pressure

Ongoing Studies

• How much chocolate should be eaten

• How to keep high levels of flavonoids without affecting the taste

• Chocolate and aging

What Adds Calories?

• In the chocolate making- sugar, milk, added fat• In chocolate bars

– Caramel

– Peanut butter

– Nuts

– Marshmallow

– Added fat and sugar

– Eggs

– Milk

Watch The Label!

• Look for total calories, total fat, sodium (especially if you need to watch your blood pressure), and sugar (if you’re diabetic)

• Look at the serving size• Example: Dove Dark Chocolate

Bar (1 oz)

Reading the Label

←Serving Size

←Calories

←Total Fat

← Sodium

←Total Carbohydrate

(sugar)

Chocolate Choices!•Different chocolate products yield different amounts of fat, sugar and calories.•Choose your chocolate carefully!

Chocolate (1 oz) Calories Fat (g)

Sugar (g)

Dove Dark Chocolate Bar

144 9 17

Snickers bar 135 7 17

York Peppermint Pattie 101 1.8 22

Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar

142 8 17

Hershey’s Dark Chocolate bar

124 8 17

A Healthy Diet ~Balance, variety and

moderation~

• Chocolate can be part of a healthy diet• But, chocolate is not the answer to our

health problems and over-consumption might lead to problems such as excess calories and fat.

• Moderation is the key!

References(for lesson plan developed by Gail M. Hanula, EdS, RD, LD, Extension Nutrition Specialist, 7/06.

Edited by Isabel Guenther, EFNEP Volunteer, 7/06)

• The Heart-Health Benefits of Chocolate Unveiled; Heart and Vascular Institute; Clevland Clinic; http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/guide/prevention/nutrition/chocolate.htm

• How Chocolate Works; How Stuff Works; http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/chocolate.htm

• Nutritiondata.com• American Heart Association• Environmental Nutrition• Consumer Health Journal