Foods that harm, foods that heal: chocolate

Chocolate is not a great source of nutrients, but there is no harm in eating a limited amount of chocolate, especially the dark variety. Tempted yet? Read on to learn more.

Thirty grams of solid chocolate contains about 150 calories and two or three grams of protein. The original bean has significant amounts of vitamin E and B vitamins. These nutrients, how­ever, are so diluted as to be negligible in modern processed chocolate. Sweet or semisweet choc­o­late contains between 40 and 53 percent fat, or cocoa butter.  Both chocolate and cocoa ­powder supply chromium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, but fat and calories make chocolate an inappropriate source of these minerals except when used in emergency rations.

Chocolate contains two related alkaloid stimulants, theobromine and caffeine, in a ratio of about 10 to 1. Theobromine, unlike caffeine, does not stimulate the central nervous system; its effects are mainly diuretic.

Commercial chocolate products contain no more than about 0.1 percent caffeine and are much less stimulating, volume for volume, than a cup of decaffeinated coffee. Unsweetened baking chocolate for home use is a more concentrated source of caffeine.

Chocolate is also rich in phenylethylamine (PEA), a naturally occurring compound that has effects similar to amphetamine. This compound can also trigger migraine headaches in susceptible people.

Some people (often women) have a tendency to binge on chocolate after emotional upsets. No scientific basis for this behaviour is known. However, psychiatrists have theorized that "chocoholics" may be people who have a faulty mechanism for regulating their body levels of phenylethylamine; others attribute chocolate cravings to hormonal changes, such as those during puberty or during a woman's premenstrual phase.

After centuries of investigation, chocolate's once-vaunted aphrodisiac qualities can be discounted. But in its myriad modern forms, chocolate is an endless temptation and a culinary source of pleasure.

A report in the February 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association sheds some positive light on chocolate. Researchers reviewed a number of studies on the possible health benefits of chocolate, particularly the dark variety, and cocoa. They found the flavonoids in chocolate to have some disease-fighting antioxidant properties — also found in red wine, and some fruits and vegetables — associated with a decreased risk of heart disease.

Chocolate is a solid at room temperature, but since its melting point is just below the human body temperature, it begins to melt and release its flavour components as soon as it is placed in the mouth.

White chocolate, a mixture of cocoa butter, milk solids and sugar, contains no cocoa solids. Unlike milk chocolate, white chocolate does not keep well, because it lacks the compounds that prevent milk solids from becoming rancid over time.

• Chocolate is best tasted on an empty stomach.
• Never put chocolate in the refrigerator — it will cause the cocoa butter to separate and form a white bloom.
• When tasting chocolate, let it sit in your mouth for a few seconds to release its primary flavours and aromas. Then chew it a few times to release the secondary aromas.
• Let it rest against the roof of your mouth so you get the full flavour.