Pre-holiday chocolate market promotion multi-select chocolate to see cocoa content

Valentine's Day is approaching, and chocolate will be sweet as a traditional Valentine's Day gift. How can we choose high quality chocolate? Is eating chocolate beneficial to health or will it increase the risk of obesity and various chronic diseases?

Pre-holiday chocolate market promotion Recently, the reporter visited major shopping malls and supermarkets, seeing a growing romantic atmosphere, a variety of gifts, chocolate is the highlight.

In a large supermarket in Fengtai District, Valentine's gifts such as plush toys and chocolate gift boxes are placed in a prominent position. The reporter saw that the chocolate gift boxes were all relatively exquisite, with a layer of shiny wrapping paper and a bag of flowers to seal the mouth. There were also gifts of dragon elements of different colors. There are as many as seven or eight types of well-known chocolate brands on the shelves, and the gift boxes are of different sizes.

Supermarket promoters told reporters that the price of chocolate this year has not changed much compared to last year. Promotions near Valentine's Day have made prices more available than usual. It is expected that the 12th and 13th of February will be the peak of chocolate purchase.

Most of the chocolate candy is too high in chocolate ingredients can often see the "cocoa liquor, cocoa syrup, cocoa butter, cocoa powder," the four substances. Fan Zhihong, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the Food College of China Agricultural University, said that the cocoa liquor and cocoa liquor are pulps that have been roasted and then ground to form cocoa beans, solidified into chunks, with a bitter but chocolate aroma. Cocoa butter is a portion of fat extracted from cocoa bean pieces, mainly saturated fat. Generally, the higher the cocoa butter content, the better the taste of chocolate. But the link between the health effects of cocoa butter and chocolate is not so great, because most of the antioxidants are in components other than fat.

The cocoa powder is the powder that is ground after the cocoa bean pieces are defatted. Cocoa powder concentrates antioxidant ingredients in cocoa, and therefore has the strongest health effects. Medical studies have shown that unsweetened cocoa powder is helpful in controlling blood pressure, reducing blood clotting, and reducing the risk of heart disease.

In general, the more raw materials that come from cocoa beans, the higher the content of polyphenols and potassium that are beneficial to cardiovascular in chocolate. Unfortunately, there are very few products with more than 60% cocoa ingredients on the market. Most of the products are too high in sugar and are only called "chocolate candy."

Choosing chocolates in the selection of varieties Some people say that eating chocolate does not cause blood lipids to increase and gain weight. Is this correct?

Fan Zhihong said that the content of fat in chocolate can usually reach 40%, while the sugar content of ordinary chocolate can also reach about 50%, is a typical high-fat high-sugar foods. Cocoa butter contained in chocolate has a high degree of saturation and does not have a good effect on blood lipids. With a large amount of sugar, it is unlikely to be effective in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and it is unlikely to be beneficial to weight loss. .

Why is the result of many medical studies that eating chocolate does not increase the level of cholesterol in the blood, but also reduces blood coagulation and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease? Experts pointed out that it was because the real dark chocolate used in the study was high in cocoa powder and almost free of sugar. Among them, the antioxidants play a protective role. Because of the lack of sugars, and the high levels of caffeine and the dietary fiber content of caffeine, the adverse effects on body weight are less pronounced.

Unmarked cocoa content products should be carefully selected In general, if the pursuit of healthy chocolate, containing cocoa syrup is naturally the higher the better. More than 70%, no ingredients such as milk are added, and the color of chocolate is relatively dark. Some dark chocolates have a cocoa content of more than 85%, or even more than 95%, and the higher the value, the more worthy of eating. If you can't stand the bitter taste, you can eat some nuts and dried fruit.

Experts said that residents of the daily purchase of chocolate in high-fat sugar, eat more fertilizer is an ironclad thing, and obesity itself will increase the risk of various chronic diseases. Therefore, it does not matter if you eat chocolate occasionally. If you eat every day, you must reduce the sources of other fats and sugars in your diet, or choose non-sweetened chocolates with a cocoa content of more than 85%. If this is not possible, increase the exercise.

In short, eating chocolate occasionally, eat less will not bring trouble, but a lot of food, eat every day, you must be careful. If chocolate is to be used as a daily food, it is safer to buy sugar-rich varieties with a very high cocoa content.