Why Choose Organic Chocolate?
44970
Food & Beverage > Gourmet
Sep 4, 2007
jwjohnson
Why Choose Organic Chocolate?
Chocolate-the drink of wisdom! The utilization of cacao dates back to the ancient Aztecs, who believed it was a source of wisdom, energy and that it was great as an aphrodisiac. Think about it. You couldn't beat something that taste not only good but also made you smart and in the mood for love. Montezuma used to drink chocolate from a gold goblet. I imagine these drinks were organic chocolate yummies. It was from there that this product made it's was into Europe, where the first eating chocolate was created in 1849 in England. Leave it up to the Europeans create the first Chocolate bars. Organic chocolate could be categorized as a snack, treat, candy, or even beverage. Chocolate lovers around the world would argue that chocolate deservers it's own category. How about gourmet? How about health food? Where does this wonderful chocolate come from? Commercial chocolate is derived from the Theobroma Cacao tree. The Greek name means "drink of the gods". I don't think I will hear anyone contradicting this. The cacao pods are carefully processed through fermentation, drying, agitation, roasting, and heating to produce what we refer to as cocoa. Did you know? * the cacao tree grows from 10 to 30 feet high * the cacao tree flowers all through the year and produces fruit yearlong * each flower after pollination becomes a pod-fruit * it taks the fruit about 6 months to ripe and be ready to process * each pod-fruit contains about 30-60 seeds or what we call cacao beans * the average American consumes over 12 pounds of chocolate a year As we learn about the effects chemicals used on our foods have on our bodies, more and more people are turning to organic foods. Organic chocolate is grown free of pesticides. Are you aware that non-organic chocolate has the second highest use of pesticides outside of commercial non-organic cotton? It is a no brainer, eat organic chocolate instead of the typical off the shelve you find in the grocery store unless you enjoy pesticides in your system. Women everywhere have always known of the benefits of chocolate. Now the world knows of its health benefits, as well - not to mention the fact that organic chocolate helps our environment. An organic chocolate bar contains as much antioxidant power as a glass of red wine. Antioxidants are substances that may protect your cells against the effects of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation. Free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Just think, that next bite or organic dark chocolate is fighting those free radicals. The phenols in chocolate are known to help the immune system, reduce the risk of cancer, and promote heart health. Pound for pound, organic dark chocolate has higher levels of antioxidants than blueberries! Dark chocolate also contains more flavanoids than green tea. Flavanoids found in organic cocoa stimulate the blood vessels to produce nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes the smooth muscles in blood vessel walls. All through the ages, people have known that chocolate can soothe the soul. I guess rock n roll takes a backseat to milk chocolate. With the help of modern science, we now know that is because organic chocolate boosts the brain chemicals serotonin and endorphin. These chemicals produce a feeling of euphoria. Another compound called anandamide has known calming properties. Anandamide is a lipid that binds to cannabinoid receptors and mimics the psychoactive effects of the drug marijuana. It is not the same but you get the picture. I guess chocolate is definitely the ultimate comfort food! Chocolate's other ingredients include magnesium and chromium (known to regulate blood sugar); theobromine which stimulates the central nervous system and is an appetite stimulant; caffeine (in relatively small quantities); and tryptophan (an essential amino acid). This also gives the calming effects. Why organic chocolate? If regular chocolate is so good for you, why go organic? For many of the same reasons that buying organic is better in the first place. You can support fair trade practices in the forests of South American countries where cacao beans are grown. Shade grown beans encourage biodiversity, and you avoid toxic chemicals. No pesticides is a major reason to buy organic chocolate. Why not have one more reason to feel good when you bite into that chocolate bar?
Jerry Johnson owns the Organic Chocolate Yummies website as well as several other successful webstores. Organic chocolates make perfect gifts for the gourmet within all of us. Visit the OrganicChocolateYummies.com for great buys on organic chocolate yummies.
send email to jwjohnson
Write a Review
Add to My Favorite
Refer it to Friend
Report Article
Other links owned by this user
Styling or protection, what do you need to consider about the type of clothing to wear on your motorcycle? First and foremost, you need protection from injury.
Category:
You walk down the street, go to malls, parks and even churches, you will see adults and teenagers wearing Bible verses on their t-shirt. You will also seeing some pretty catchy slogans on their shirts with references to Bible verses.
Category:
What has brought you to the decision to work at home? You feel you need a work from home strategy to make this successful. Has work from home found you due to a lay off?
Category:
A royal blue 1967 GTO with 325 hp, 3 deuces and 4 on the floor, one of the most famous muscle car during the high-performance automobile history. Guys love the looks and the speed while the girls loved the guys who own the GTO.
Category:
Just maybe, with the right GPS system, you will never have to ask for directions again or hear the dreaded question. Honey, are we lost?
Category:
Chocolate-the drink of wisdom! The utilization of cacao dates back to the ancient Aztecs, who believed it was a source of wisdom, energy and that it was great as an aphrodisiac. Think about it. You couldn't beat something that taste not only good but also
Category:
Other links at Food & Beverage > Gourmet
I find that specialty foods easily surpass the traditional gifts and are some of the best gifts given or received for three reasons: they're unique, there's a wide range of choices, and they're tasty!
Category:
A journey through the history of chocolate reveals that this mysterious food has woven its story throughout multiple cultures and continents impacting civilizations culturally, socially, economically and spiritually. A study of the history of chocolate
Category:
Spaghetti recipe is a well known dish from Italy. There are tons of easy ways to eat your spaghetti. Here are below the 2 most common ways to have your home made spaghetti. These also can be found in great restaurants around the world. Here are these secr
Category:
By now we?ve all heard of green tea and probably even read about the health benefits that it has and lots of other information. I want to take amount and put all of this nonsense aside and tell you about a tea that is something to get excited about:
Category:
Just like any other profession, whether or not being a chef is a career or a job depends largely on you. Of course, if your chef-dom is merely a job for you, don't be surprised if it doesn't take long to burn out.
Category:
Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics
Articles: 68252
Categories: 501
Yahoo Entertainment
