Chocolates demystified

July 31st, 2015

Some of you may be mystified by the title of this article. Well, myths surround objects, living things, places and phenomena, both mundane and marvellous. You may be surprised to know that chocolate cannot escape the net of myths either! Yes, it is true that there are false beliefs that surround this oh-so-adorable member of the food family! If you are looking to send chocolates by post this year to someone special, but they decline to accept your gift citing on or more of the following myths – then be sure to let them know that their belief is in fact just a myth about chocolate that should be discarded immediately!

  • People with high levels of bad cholesterol should give up chocolates – or those who believe this myth, you should know that the source of at from chocolate is in fact twin pronged. One is from cocoa butter present in chocolate, which does have high levels of unsaturated fat. But, the second and more important source of fat in chocolate is stearic acid, which does not have the same properties as saturated fat. So, moderate amounts of chocolate will do no one any harm!
  • High caffeine levels – If you enjoy your morning cup of coffee from the local bistro or Starbucks, then you certainly should not be saying this! Chocolate contains very little caffeine. A Starbucks grand cup of coffee has 320 mgs of caffeine whereas a rich bar of regular chocolate has just 9 mgs of caffeine; the dark chocolate version having just 31 mgs!
  • Very high sugar levels – High sugar levels means hyper active people, right? Well, this is a correct statement. But assuming that chocolate has very high sugar levels and is to be avoided by children, who tend to be more hyper active than most, is not a correct statement. Children, by nature, have a very agile mind and are eager to do everything, see everything and eat everything! Eating chocolates has nothing to with them!
  • Chocolate and weight gain – The next time a diva talks about eating a green salad and turns up her nose at a chocolate bar – remind her that a small quantity of chocolate (of the good variety and not in a fudge or poured all over a brownie, mind you!) every day, in fact, helps a person reduce his weight! The foods usually consumed with chocolate add to the weight problem, not chocolate itself.
  • Increase in stress levels – Really – this myth borders on incredulity! Everybody knows that chocolate is the “fell happy” food because some of the ingredients actually trigger that part of the brain or gets serotonin (a chemical, again in the brain) released which relax a person. So, the next time you are on a verge of a loud and long bout of crying, buy yourself a tub of chocolate and indulge yourself a bit!

Chocolate also has nutritional value and makes for a tasty as well as healthy gift – so don’t hesitate to pack some in your next hamper!