Food & Drink

Eating Cocoa and Chocolate Boosts Brain Health

Eating Cocoa and Chocolate Boosts Brain Health - eBuddynews

Indeed, it seems that, according to recent studies, eating chocolate and cocoa can help us improve our health and our brain. However, not every chocolate serves and this seems to be a simple detail, but it is a very important fact that we should not forget. Know more about how eating chocolate boosts brain health.

In the market, we find all kinds of chocolates and cocoas, mixtures, with added liquor or fruit, among other varieties. Let’s focus on the most common chocolates

Types of Chocolate Boosts Brain Health

Milk Chocolate - eBuddynews

Chocolate With High Cocoa Content:

We can find it from 100%, although the most common are those that contain 85% cocoa or 70%.

Milk Chocolate:

 

 

Its content in cocoa is between 25% and 40% and usually also includes cocoa butter, milk, milk powder and, of course, sugar. A lot of sugar.

White Chocolate:

This type of chocolate does not contain cocoa at all.  Although it does contain cocoa butter – the fat that separated from the cocoa bean when making the cocoa mass. The amount of butter that the white chocolates carry is around 20%.

However, some even dispense with cocoa butter, changing it for other cheaper fats. In addition to cocoa butter, white chocolate carries milk solids, milk fat, and around 55% sugars.

Something Similar Happens With The Cocoas :

Cocoa Powder - eBuddynews

 

Pure Cocoa Powder:

Powdered cocoa and cold pressed. To be pure should not be defatted.  But the reality is that it is normally defatted.

Pure Cocoa Powder Defatted:

The reality is that it is not pure cocoa, but cocoa, that roasted cocoa beans. Thanks to this process, the amount of cocoa fat reduced, which is usually around 50-60%. This is the product that some brands sell us as pure defatted cocoa.

Cocoa Powder With Sugar:

Here we find the type of cocoa that normally used for breakfast. In breakfast cocoa, we find Cola Cao or Nesquick. It consists of a mixture of sugar, soluble cocoa powder, wheat flour, and malted cola. Currently, we find 0% sugar products, but the reality is that they contain another type of sweetener.

Which Cocoa and Chocolate Boosts Brain Health?

Chocolate with high cocoa content - eBuddy News

According to the two studies published in the Experimental Biology 2018 in San Diego, for the chocolate to exert its positive effects, it must contain a high concentration of cocoa – at least 70%-. This type of chocolate can have positive effects on stress levels, in the mood, the memory or the immune system.

The higher the concentration of cocoa, the more positive is the impact it has on our health.
One of these studies indicates that cocoa consumption could regulate multiple intracellular routes. While the other indicates that consuming foods that contain more than 70% of cocoa improves neuroplasticity for the benefit of brain health.

Studies indicate that part of these benefits is due to the flavonoids found in cocoa. Cocoa contains powerful antioxidants.
Of course, some media and institutions have already echoed this news, but it seems that they have done it in a somewhat interesting way.

According to the XII Congress of the Mediterranean Diet, cocoa entered the infant nutrition pyramid for its health benefits. Congress encouraged to drink the glass of milk with a lifetime of cocoa.

Obviously, this is to make incorrect and interesting use of the news, since they forget to indicate that for the consumption to be beneficial, the product must contain more than 70% of cocoa. The cocoa that is most commonly used to give children is cocoa powder with sugar, such as Cola Cao. Cola Cao includes a minimum percentage of cocoa and a high content of other less healthy ingredients such as sugar or wheat flour.
Again, and as we have seen on other occasions, it is important to read the labels and not get carried away by the messages of the interested companies. Because yes, in the absence of further studies, chocolate can help us improve our health and can help our brain, but not any chocolate. Do not give us cocoa for butter.

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