Yes you read that right..... Chocolate for Health!  Italian researchers at the University of L’Aquila found eating 100g of good dark chocolate each day for 15 days lowered blood pressure.  In a 15 person-study, they also found the body’s ability to metabolise sugar was improved, which could be a benefit for people with diabetes.
 
Now you can enjoy chocolate without the guilt.
 
The team said an antioxidant called flavanol was responsible for the effect because it neutralised potentially cell-damaging substances, known as oxygen free radicals, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported.
 
Dr Claudio Ferri, lead researcher, said that despite the benefits of dark chocolate people should be careful about chocolate consumption because although it contains antioxidants it also contains “a lot of fat and calories”.   The products Health by Chocolate create do not contain caffeine, refined sugars or bad fats.
 
Nutrition expert Cesar Fraga, of the University of California, said this chocolate, in particular, " is a category creator in the Health and Wellness Industry".
  
The highest rated food known to contain natural antioxidants is the Cacao bean, and the Acai berry comes a close second. Both of these are in Health by Chocolate. Flavenoids are full spectrum antioxidants and, therefore, the best available and there are extremely high levels of these in our chocolate. Flavenoids  are found in darker fruit and veg but they are highest in cocoa and the acai berry and may:
 
 Lower Blood Pressure
 Lower Cholesterol
 Reduce inflammation in the body
 Reduce acid reflux (Heartburn)
 Reduce insulin resistance for diabetics
 Help with weight loss
 
As heat destroys antioxidants, the antioxidant levels of the cacao bean and acai berry, are preserved as this chocolate is produced using patented cold pressed technology.
 
The Nuggets and Power Squares are the first products to be introduced from a full selection of products for you to get your healthy chocolate fix, from cookies to drinks, there will be a Health by Chocolate product for you.
Among the earliest people to discover the health benefits of chocolate were the Maya and their predecessors, the Olmec culture, in approximately 1,500 B.C. These ancient peoples in the Americas used the chocolate bean as the main ingredient in a bitter beverage revered for its nourishing qualities and ability to boost energy and stamina. It was also used to treat stomach and intestinal complaints, infections, fever and coughs. The drink was a mixture of fermented and roasted cocoa paste, water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients blended into a spicy, frothy, and sugar-free health drink.

 
Because of its value and popularity, the cacao bean became a significant trade item for the Mayans. In fact, the Aztecs—who could not grow the cacao tree because of their dry climate—became so enamored with the bean that they often required that citizens and conquered peoples pay their tribute in cacao beans. The Aztec word for the delightsome drink—xocolatl, which means “bitter water”—is what was eventually transformed into the modern English word, “chocolate.”
 
Until the 1500s, no one outside of the New World knew little, if anything, about chocolate until Hernán Cortés conquered Mexico in 1521 and the Spanish began to learn about the delicious flavour of chocolate. Cortés and his men had their first taste of the beverage from the confiscated treasure stores of the Aztecs. Cortés described it as a “divine drink” that “builds up resistance and fights fatigue.” He observed  “a cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food.”
 
It was most likely the Spaniards who discovered that mixing the bitter chocolate base with sugar and a variety of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and the like, proved to be more suited for the European palate. Eventually, chocolate beverages gained popularity among European aristocrats and remained a status symbol for the wealthy until the chocolate candies were first mass-produced for the public in the nineteenth century. As late as the 1600s, the drink was still advertised as a health elixir in England.
 
The new, sweeter chocolate concoctions were brought back to the Americans by European settlers. President Thomas Jefferson is said to have remarked, “The superiority of chocolate for health and nourishment will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America that it has in Spain.”
 
Our love affair with chocolate continues though the sweet cocoa confections, we buy over the counter today, bear little resemblance to the bitter Mesoamerican brew.

Ruth  Cotton

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