Chocolate is a kind of food with high energy, which is mainly composed of cocoa butter, milk powder and sugar. Every100g of chocolate can produce the heat equivalent to150g of grain.

Scientists have made extensive research on the ingredients of cocoa and chocolate. Chocolate fat (cocoa butter) first separated from cocoa consists of saturated fatty acids (palmitic acid and stearic acid), monounsaturated fatty acids and other small amounts (less than 5%). In addition to fat and simple sugar, chocolate is also rich in a lot of essential minerals, especially beauty, copper, potassium and manganese. In fact, there are also moderate amounts of zinc and iron.

1.2. Chocolate and flavonoids

American researchers have found that eating a small amount of chocolate can increase flavonoids in the blood that affect platelet coagulation, so it is good for the heart.

Researchers at the University of California found that dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which can reduce the viscosity of blood tablets, and even eating a small amount of chocolate is good for the heart. The researchers asked 18 healthy adults to eat 25 grams of chocolate each. Six hours later, the test found that the concentration of flavonoids in l 8 people's blood increased, and the platelet coagulation time in their blood was much longer than before eating chocolate. Previous studies have also found the same results, but the amount of flavonoids or flavonoid extracts consumed by participants is four times that of this latest study. The researchers said that many people like to eat milk chocolate, but milk chocolate contains less flavonoids than dark chocolate, and besides chocolate, many foods also contain flavonoids, such as fruits, but these foods do not contain high calories and fat.

1.3. The energy of chocolate

Chocolate can provide high energy, and each kilogram of chocolate can provide 60 10 kcal, which is much higher than eggs, fish and other foods. When you are too late for breakfast, nervous at work, weak after illness and have a lot of exercise, you can eat some chocolate to supplement your energy. Do you know that?/You know what? Do you know that?/You know what? According to expert research, because chocolate is small in size, high in calories and easy to absorb, it is helpful for pregnant women to eat a few pieces before labor. Last September, The Lancet magazine published the results of a research group in the United States, saying that chocolate contains phenol, which can prevent heart disease. Lecithin added to chocolate, its phosphorus content is beneficial to children's brain development. In addition, chocolate contains a small amount of exciting ingredients, which can refresh the mind and replenish energy when people are tired, which is good for drivers and writers. These are probably unmatched by other foods.

2. Chocolate and health

Many people worry about eating chocolate, thinking that they will get fat, suffer from diabetes and dental caries. Actually, this is a misunderstanding.

Although the fat content in chocolate is much higher than other foods, cocoa butter in chocolate is an unsaturated fatty acid and will not make people fat. A large number of experiments show that cocoa butter will not increase the cholesterol content in blood. As for the fear that too much sugar in chocolate will lead to diabetes, it is also unfounded. According to the specific determination, diabetes is not caused by eating sucrose; Moreover, at present, the per capita sugar in China is only 17 grams per day, and it is absolutely safe to eat 30-50 grams of sugar per day. Chocolate is different from candy because it dissolves quickly, is not easy to stay in the mouth, and does little harm to teeth.

Although chocolate has a high fat content, oleic acid in it provides monounsaturated fatty acids, which can slightly lower cholesterol. In recent years, studies on whether chocolate affects blood lipids have consistently shown that eating chocolate (cocoa food) has no effect on raising blood lipids. Eating chocolate will increase the intake of exogenous fat, so we should reduce the intake of other fats (such as cooking oil and fat). ) to maintain the balance of dietary nutrients.

Although chocolate has certain nutrition, it should not be eaten in moderation.