According to the tribe of Maya belief, chocolate is the food of gods. The original taste of cacao actually is bitter as a result of the alkaloid content, but after going through the process, it produced a chocolate as a preferred food of many people. Cacao contain 31% fat, 14% carbohydrate and 9% protein.
In the United States consuming chocolate only contribute 1% of total fat intake as stated by the National Food Consumption Survey (1987-1998). This amount is relatively small, especially when compared with the contribution of meat (30%), cereal (22%), and milk (20%). Fat in the chocolate, cocoa butter is often called, mostly structured by saturated fat (60%) especially stearate.
In research, they found that the consumption of chocolate fat result in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol lower than the consumption of butter or beef fat. So even though they have the same contains of saturated fat but it was produced the different cholesterol effect. The high content of stearate in chocolate is presumed as the cause of why chocolate fat is not as bad as animal fat. It has been well known that stearate is neutral fatty acid that will not trigger blood cholesterol. This is because stearate was slowly digested by the body and we also absorbed less.
Chocolates also contain katekin which are strong antioxidants. One of the functions of antioxidants is to prevent earlier aging that can occur due to pollution or radiation. Katekin also found in tea as though the amount is not as high as chocolate. In addition, chocolate also contains theobromine and caffeine. Both the substance of these has been known as giving awakened effect for people who consumed. There is no evidence that chocolate cause pimple. Chocolate also can not be said as the main cause of dental plaque due to the emergence of dental plaque can also occur in people who consume regular meals daily. Need to be wary, especially for people who are vulnerable suffer kidney stones. 100 g chocolate consumption will increase three-fold excression oxalat and calcium. Therefore, healthy tips that can be recommended is a drink of water after eating lots of chocolate. (Adapted from DoInHealth&Beauty)