Sep 18th 2007 02:30 pm Health Benefits of Raw Chocolate Bars
People have been going crazy over health and diet since the ’70s. Faddy diets have come and gone and even come again however one of the “diets” still around is the raw food diet. Basically this is means the food not cooked above a certain temperature. Generally the upper limit is around 115F/46C.
Whatever your stance on whether raw food is healthy or not, one this is for sure: chocolate already fits into the category. Its source in the bean from the Theobroma cacao tree, the way the bean is processed and the final product created, all cause it to fit well into the category of raw food.
The way that many backpackers and other outdoor enthusiasts take it is in the form of an organic superfood bar. It’s low in sugar, often there’s no sugar at all, it’s low in fat and has many nutritional benefits.
Some people even eat the raw cacao beans however you may find them bitter. Or perhaps you’ll enjoy the zing provided by the natural alkaloids in the unprocessed kernels. They’re often crushed and mixed with other foods such as walnuts, vanilla powder and cinnamon.
Even those made without the added products can be super tasty and super nutritious. One superfood bar offers a 91% cacao content that is chock full of all the good things in natural chocolate – antioxidants, Theobromine, vitamin B1, magnesium and other compounds.
Another great benefit is that there’s no artificial preservatives required, something we see all too often in other foods. And while that keeps them safe and palatable for consumption months after being created, it sometimes doesn’t ensure the best taste or nutrition.
But many chocolate products use only the natural preservative powers of the cacao itself. And they are designed to be consumed soon after being made so you get the freshest possible food.
Although chocolate can have a bitter taste which not everyone likes, when combined with dried fruits such as raisins and dates, it can become a lot more to peoples taste. And that amount of natural, complex sugar is not only tasty, but avoids the excessive rebound that can occur with highly sweetened foods using simple sugars.
Because complex sugars can take longer to digest people don’t suffer from the sugar highs and lows. That allows the body to process it properly and avoids the headache, dizziness, fatigue and other symptoms that sometimes happen with high-sugar products.
Raw chocolate products also tend to be much lower in saturated fats and calories. This is great for hikers who may want a high carbohydrate, low fat ratio
If you look at the calory, carb and fat content of a raw chocolate bar then you’ll find that for ever 2 oz, you’ll get 200 calories, 28g of carbohydrate and 10g of fat. Very different for the average sugar-loaded bar. Often only a third of the calories are from fat, with 10% of the fat in saturated form. 50% of calories from (mostly saturated) fat is the norm in the average candy bar.
Try a chocolate organic raw food or superfood bar and see if you don’t agree that they taste great and provide terrific nutritional value.
Posted by April / Food and Drink
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