Which chocolate is the healthiest?

After the Spring Festival, except the Lantern Festival, Valentine's Day is the most concerned holiday for young people. The important activity of Valentine's Day is naturally to send chocolates to the person you love. In this way, chocolate has become a hot commodity, and the topic of chocolate health has revived. A TV cooking program says that chocolate is safe to eat and won't make people fat at all! A newspaper said that chocolate is different from candy, it is good for the heart! Is that so? What kind of chocolate is good for people? Let's take a look at the latest research report. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in July 2008, different chocolate and cocoa drinks were tested. The researchers first divided 45 overweight subjects into two groups, one group gave chocolate containing 22 grams of cocoa powder (bitter dark chocolate) and the other group gave chocolate without cocoa powder; Then the subjects were divided into three groups. One group drank sugar-free cocoa drinks (containing 22 grams of cocoa powder), another group drank sugary sweet cocoa drinks (also containing 22 grams of cocoa powder), and the third group drank sweet cocoa flavor drinks (containing no cocoa powder at all). After taking it once, the changes of physical indexes were measured immediately. The results show that people who drink sugar-free cocoa drinks have the strongest effect on improving vascular endothelial function, while those who drink sugar-free cocoa drinks are obviously worse, but still slightly better than those who drink sugar-free cocoa drinks. From the point of blood pressure, the blood pressure of drinking sugar-free cocoa and eating cocoa powder chocolate decreased by 2-3 mm Hg on average, while the blood pressure of eating chocolate without cocoa powder or cocoa beverage did not decrease, but increased by 2-3 mm Hg. Another study published in 2005 asked subjects to eat dark chocolate (100g, containing 500mg of polyphenols) or white chocolate (with no ingredients and extremely low polyphenol content) 15 days, and then the two groups exchanged, which confirmed that eating dark chocolate could improve insulin sensitivity, reduce insulin resistance and slightly lower blood pressure. White chocolate has no such effect. Researchers believe that polyphenols in cocoa powder are the source of health effects in chocolate. Many studies have confirmed that cocoa powder can provide a lot of antioxidant components, reduce blood coagulation, lower blood pressure, improve vascular endothelial function and erythrocyte deformability. Fat components other than sugar and cocoa powder will reduce this effect of cocoa powder. The so-called chocolate products and cocoa-flavored drinks without cocoa powder have no health care function, and may even be the opposite. Looking at the chocolate sold in China at present, the cocoa content is low and the sugar content is as high as 50%. Although this kind of chocolate is sweet and delicious, its impact on health is hard to say. Fortunately, some big supermarkets have products with high cocoa content, ranging from 65% to 90%. However, this kind of chocolate is bitter and bitter, and its sweetness is very light, or even no sweetness at all, which is difficult for most consumers who are used to eating chocolate as candy. In fact, chocolate and chocolate candy are not exactly the same concept. Chocolate tastes bitter, while chocolate candy is sweet. The so-called hot chocolate drink is not a real chocolate product, which contains a lot of hydrogenated vegetable oil and a lot of sugar. The value of chocolate lies in its bitter polyphenols, not sugar and milk, refined vegetable oil or even cocoa butter. White chocolate has no health value and is harmful to the heart because it contains cocoa butter substitutes and too much sugar. You can express your love for your loved ones with sweeter chocolate on a beautiful Valentine's Day, but if you and your family often enjoy it, it is more wise to choose products with slightly sweet or unsweetened cocoa content. In fact, feelings are the same. Being able to share joys and sorrows is the love worth cherishing. A little bitterness and hardship make life more memorable.