[ti:Raw Chocolate Is Better For Your Health] [ar:Anna Matteo] [al:Health Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report. [00:04.84]Chocolate. Is it good for our health? [00:09.21]Or is it just good? [00:11.97]Many experts warn that [00:15.26]the sugar in chocolate is not good for us. [00:18.30]But doctors point to the healthful qualities [00:22.84]of chocolate's antioxidants. [00:25.67]VOA's George Putic reports that uncooked, [00:31.42]organic chocolate may contain the right balance. [00:35.71]The biggest value in eating cocoa and dark chocolate, [00:40.80]besides the taste, [00:42.59]may be its ability to lower blood pressure. [00:46.23]This comes from the rich, [00:49.11]comforting, almost decadent, [00:51.77]feeling of cocoa butter melting in your mouth. [00:55.95]That happy feeling may also add to [01:00.09]chocolate's anti-depressant qualities, says Kim Hoffman. [01:04.53]Ms. Hoffman is a dietician, [01:07.46]a person who advises people about what to eat to be healthy. [01:12.64]She tells how dark chocolate makes us feel better [01:17.93]and raises our mood. [01:20.33]"It contains phenethylamines, [01:24.07]which is a neurotransmitter that is found [01:27.85]in the brain and actually acts as a mood elevator. [01:31.58]It also enhances the blood endorphins, [01:37.01]which are the happy opiates, [01:38.55]and they are basically around when you are on a high." [01:42.05]Not all chocolate is equal [01:44.45]when it comes to those helpful chemicals. [01:47.10]The way commercial chocolate makers [01:50.53]produce chocolate affects its health benefits. [01:54.71]First, there is the issue of temperature. [01:58.82]The heat required to process commercial chocolate [02:03.44]can be as high as 130 degrees centigrade. [02:08.22]Some researchers say temperatures that high [02:13.01]can actually lower the effectiveness [02:16.65]of those beneficial chemicals. [02:18.83]Anthony Grid makes fine chocolates [02:22.82]at a store called Honest Chocolate, [02:25.87]in Cape Town, South Africa. [02:28.11]He keeps the temperature of his raw chocolate below 42 degrees. [02:33.68]Mr. Grid says that there is a movement [02:37.66]in the food world to limit heat when cooking food. [02:41.45]Followers of this movement say [02:45.17]that high temperatures lower the health benefits of our food. [02:49.64]"There's a movement for minimal cooking [02:53.57]or minimal heating of food, [02:54.73]just to retain the natural antioxidants or whatever, [02:57.82]the minerals or whatever it may be. [02:59.71]So cocoa is part of that - you can do it raw, [03:02.15]with a very good quality bean." [03:03.60]Another way chocolate makers decrease its health benefits [03:07.44]is by adding sugar. [03:09.58]The taste of cocoa is naturally sharp, or bitter. [03:14.22]This bitterness comes from an antioxidant in cocoa, [03:19.25]a chemical called polyphenol. [03:22.14]To reduce cocoa's bitter taste, [03:25.23]makers of chocolate products remove the polyphenol and add sugar. [03:31.01]Food science writer Leonie Joubert notes that [03:35.90]sugar is connected to weight-related illnesses. [03:39.58]Ms. Joubert warns that eating too much sugar [03:44.01]leads to many health problems. [03:46.20]"The problem is that overexposure [03:48.59]to sugar over a long period of time - [03:50.29]it causes this repeated inflammatory response in the body, [03:53.63]which now is linked to heart disease. [03:55.68]Obviously it's linked to obesity [03:58.82]and weight problems and the associated diseases." [04:00.76]The chocolates at Honest Chocolate are made with agave nectar, [04:05.99]not cane sugar. [04:08.83]And they have a very high percentage of cacao. [04:11.73]This is something buyer (customer) Jessica Bonin enjoys. [04:16.81]"What I find quite remarkable about their chocolate [04:19.45]is that you are not overwhelmed by the sugar [04:21.39]so you actually get to taste the chocolate itself, [04:24.04]which is really so luxurious and quite decadent." [04:27.42]Like many other people who know good chocolate [04:30.60]when they taste it -- chocolate connoisseurs -- [04:33.25]Ms. Bonin satisfies her craving [04:36.44]with just one small piece of really good chocolate. [04:41.47]In other words, she chooses "quality over quantity." [04:46.29]And this choice is most likely better for her health. [04:51.24]And that's the Health Report. I'm Anna Matteo.