Chocolate is Good for You!!!

Between the day after Halloween sugar hangover and the craziness of trying to figure out what's actually good to eat in the industrial food supply, I have some wonderful news! Chocolate is good for you! The flip side of this is that probably very little of what your child liberated from the neighbors last night is actually chocolate. More likely it's high fructose corn syrup with chocolate flavoring and some unpronounceable ingredients. That's okay, let them enjoy it for a few days and when the sugar high has passed you can start to educate yourself and your child about what chocolate manufacturers practice fair trade and have reasonably healthy products.

I have to admit I was so relieved when I discovered that Reese's peanut butter cups were made with real sugar. A student of mine told me this because she was determined to eat candy only with real sugar. I consider that a good start on her part. 

Unfortunately, our old friends, names we grew with up: Hershey's and, Nestle  still use child slave  labor to obtain their chocolate. Many of them have signed agreements to end child slave labor but so far it's just lip service. Mars, however, who make snickers and M and M's seems to be leading the way in establishing their products as fair trade.

It may seem unfair to be the one who spoils the wonderful fun of Halloween with bitter news about how our cultural practices which are all about kids and fun come at the expense and sometimes the lives of children a world away. The good news in all this is that we don't have to give up chocolate.We just need to develop a consciousness and awareness around it. The simplest thing you can do, rather than researching each and every individual company is to look for the fair trade label on all of your chocolates.

In ancient times, cocoa was typically used by the Mayan and Aztec elite societies for its medicinal value in cases of fever, heart pain, emaciation, fatigue, and kidney ailments.  It wasn’t until more recently that cocoa’s healthy reputation began to be tarnished by adding emulsified sugars, milk, flavorings and preservatives.  When selecting chocolate for its antioxidant benefits, cocoa in its purest form is the best choice; second best choice would be dark chocolate of 70% or higher cocoa.

Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables.  Health benefits of Dark Chocolate:

·         Lowers Blood Pressure

·         Reduces LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10%

·         Stimulates endorphin production

·         Contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant

·         Contains 8 times the number of antioxidants found in strawberries which protect the body from aging and heart disease

·         It tastes good and gives a feeling of pleasure

·         Contains oleic acid (monounsaturated fat-the good fat) & Stearic Acid (neutralizes cholesterol)

Most of the studies used no more than about 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.  Recommendation:  Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with a half a bar of dark chocolate to keep your total calories the same.

Honest Chocolate