Choosing the Best Chocolate for Your Health

Like so many things in our modern world, its the processing of chocolate that makes all the difference. This isn't just the New Age Hippy types saying this either (as one, the author feels comfortable making this statement). Food chemists and researchers who analyze the molecular makeup of our diets are of the same opinion. It's RAW, minimally-processed chocolate that's the miracle food. Un-roasted, un-cooked plain old powdered chocolate, better known as 'Cacao', is far superior in every way for your health. Cacao is one of the few foods on the planet now being called a 'super'-food, as it's nutrient density is so high and its health benefits are so great. Note that 'organic' does not mean 'raw'. Even the premium organic hot-chocolate powders found in the high-end health food stores is still roasted and usually processed with alkali (called 'Dutch Processing', making it easier to dissolve in water, and destroying most of the antioxidants at the same time). This means that 99% of the chocolate products on the shelves are NOT the superfood you wished they were, but it also points the direction to how to include chocolate in your life on an exceptionally health daily basis. We'll get to some recipes in a moment, but first a few points to help you remember why raw chocolate is where it's at.

First the question of Caffeine. Many folks are sensitive to caffeine's effect on their nervous system. It raises blood pressure, shortens tempers and keeps people awake. There are however, significant differences in the alkaloid structures of raw and roasted chocolate. Raw chocolate's stimulation comes primarily from theobromine, which has little anxiety producing effects. Studies by natural wellness professionals and user reports both note that while commercially prepared dark chocolate has a very stimulating action that caffeine sensitive individuals may find too strong, an equivalent amount of raw cacao does not. The stimulating effects are reported mild, gentle, and without a 'crash' that is often associated with caffeine. A reason for mothers to think about creating their own raw chocolate treats for their children, too. The jury is still out on the actual amount if caffeine in raw chocolate; some investigators have found none, some have found small amounts in the 'skin' of the cacao beans, and others of found only small amounts in beans that have fermented somewhat (an indication of a lower-quality cacao). Either way, if you've refrained from chocolate because of it's caffeine content, raw cacao may just be your answer to enjoying this treat again.

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The Process of Making Chocolate

From Nature to the Factory
Chocolate comes from processed cacao beans, harvested from the cacao tree. Cacao trees only grow in tropical climates, 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the equator. The first cacao trees grew in the Amazon basins, north of Brazil. Today it is grown and cultivated in many tropical countries such as Ghana, Brazil, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast, which are also four of the largest cacao growers in the world. Cacao trees strive in warm and humid weather with little or no wind. They like loose rich soil and shaded sunlight, usually growing under the shade of taller trees such as coconut, banana, and rubber trees. Cacao trees are harvested only twice a year. The pods, where the seeds or the beans can be harvested, take five to six months to develop. The pods turn to orange or red from a green or yellow color once they are ripe and ready for picking. To harvest the pods, farmers use a machete to cut them off the tree. This is why cacao trees are trimmed to only about twenty feet, because they can shoot up as high as sixty feet. After picking, the cacao beans or seeds are left to ferment for several days, depending on the types of cacao variety. After fermentation, the seeds are wrinkled and darker in color and lose their overly bitter taste. They are the dried under the sun for another several days and then packed in sacks and shipped into factories. In the factory, the beans are cleaned and sorted and roasted at 450 to 350 degrees for thirty minutes up to two hours. Inside large revolving drums.

Making Chocolate Liquor
After roasting, the cacao beans' outer shell are removed, the process of which is called winnowing. The separated shells are sold as animal feeds and the inner nib is crushed and heated until it melts into cocoa butter and then ground into a thick paste called chocolate liquor. Liquor in this case does not mean it contains any alcohol but simply is in liquid form. This chocolate liquor forms the base of different types of chocolates, including dark, white, and milk chocolate. The concentration of the chocolate liquor will determine the richness of the chocolate's taste.

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Superfoods and Raw Chocolate?

According to popular research, chocolate is the number one food craved by women.  The worldwide chocolate consumption rate increases 3-4% every year!   Western culture has fallen in love with this amazing substance.  But do we really know why?
Chocolate originates from the pure energy of the cacao bean, also known as ‘the food of the gods”.  All chocolate is made from cacao, the seed of the fruit of an Amazonian jungle tree!
I invite you to discover, naked chocolate, an entirely new raw experience, true chocolate with all its psychoactive properties, nutrition and brain activators intact, without the heating process!
Its time for a Revolution. 

First the facts:
• Cacao beans were first used as money with the Aztecs and Mayans.
• Cacao is one of nature’s super foods, with amazing properties that are destroyed with cooking.
• Cacao contains over 300 chemically identifiable compounds
• Cacao is remarkably rich in magnesium, which is supportive to the heart, builds strong bones and is associated with happiness
• It is the richest source of antioxidants on the planet
• Cacao releases the bliss chemical, called Anandamide
• Cacao release’s Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAO), youthening and rejuvenation chemistry.
• Cacao is nature’s anti-depressant.
• Cacao lowers cravings for over-eating
• The more you eat, the more you loose weight
• Cacao is a natural laxative
• Cacao soothes PMS symptoms
• Cacao is a natural muscle relaxanat

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Chocolate- The Food Of The Gods

There are few foodstuffs with such a rich and intriguing history as cocoa and chocolate. Many people have a love affair with chocolate yet few of us know the unique origins of this popular treat. We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times. But actually, chocolate dates back to the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage.

The story of chocolate spans more than 3,000 years and began in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America where cacao trees, the seeds of which are made into chocolate, first grew. These tropical evergreen trees are native to Central and South America.

The botanical name of the tree that gives us chocolate is Theobroma Cacao, which literally means 'food of the gods.' The tree's modern generic Latin name (Theobrama Cacao) actually derives from the Mayan word 'cacao' meaning 'god food.'

Cacao trees produce large leathery fruits containing large seeds enveloped by a sweet-sour, cream-colored pulp. Fruits sometimes called pods can get to be the size of footballs and may contain as many as 50 seeds. Chocolate is made from the large seeds. It takes around 400 seeds to make 1 pound of chocolate.

The earliest known evidence for cacao use dates from around 1100 BC. Researchers identified residue of a chemical compound that comes exclusively from the cacao plant - the source of chocolate - in pottery vessels at an archaeological site in Puerto Escondido, Honduras.

The earliest cacao beverages consumed at Puerto Escondido were likely produced by fermenting the sweet pulp surrounding the seeds - and it was this beer-like drink that started the chocolate craze

The chocolate enjoyed by later Mesoamerican civilizations like the Maya and Aztecs was made from ground cacao seeds with added seasonings, producing a spicy, frothy drink.

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Green Tea An Old Age Solution To A New Age Problem

Green tea is now used in many health products globally; it is currently used primarily as an antioxidant but this is a complex herb that is still being researched. If you are looking to use green tea weight loss products, they're available in liquid form, for drinks, or tablets if you prefer; either way excess calories will be lost when used.
It has a wide range of benefits for the human metabolism but first and foremost, it has great anti-aging properties, accelerating cell regeneration and slowing the oxidation process in the system. Although it is the toxin removal and laxative qualities that help with weight loss when taken regularly. Our body loses more calories because it is speeded up thereby reducing the amount of fat tissue which would normally form.
Despite the success of green tea weight loss products, they cannot work on their own so the user must be responsible for what food they eat and any exercise they perform. For it to work, adjustments to diet and mental attitude are necessary for a person to become healthier, it is not just a case of losing weight.

Although green tea can be used at any time of the day and in many ways as a beverage, it is most effective when taken immediately before bed. Although it may at first seem a little scary, it has a strange effect on the body and as a consequence the stomach and bowls may not work as they should while you become accustomed to it during the first few days. This is not something to be concerned about as it only normally affects someone who has never taken green tea weight loss products before and then because the tea is improving the body's metabolism. Results are normally obvious within the first week, particularly if you complete the diet with physical exercise, lots of liquids and green food.
Extracts from the ginseng root are often mixed with green tea as combined; the two prove to be more effective. Used in Asia for thousands of years ginseng is well known and respected there and provides essential vitamins and minerals for good health when combined with those already found in the product.

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How To Use Green Tea Products

When used in weight loss products, it shows some amazing qualities like helping the metabolism by ridding the system of toxins and using the natural laxative quality it possesses. The body's system is stimulated into burning more calories than usual, and will thus avoid useless accumulation of fat tissue. Nevertheless, it does require certain actions on the part of the dieter if they want the process to work eating junk food with no exercise will not make the green tea products regime successful. Many people seem to think that its use will solve all their weight problems but the fact you are taking the product implies you are trying to improve your health by eating more healthily.

Although green tea can be used at any time of the day and in many ways as a beverage, it is most effective when taken immediately before bed. It is possible that during the first two or three days, you may experience some bowel discomfort, but that is very likely to pass soon. This effect is quite normal especially for new users and is down to the way that green tea products speed up the metabolism so calories do not have time to become fat tissue. If you maintain other parts of your diet; exercise, plenty of liquids and vegetables, results of using it can be seen within a week.

One very successful combination of green tea products is that which includes ginseng root extract. Considered to be the root of life in China and Tibet, ginseng root brings the vitamin and mineral supplement the body needs during a detoxification period. Ginseng is also beneficial for the immune system and when used in combination with green tea, helps to improve the energy level of a person who is losing weight so they do not feel so lethargic. Although safe to use, ginseng and green tea are not normally used for periods beyond six months at a time.

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Mistakes People Make When Selecting Green Tea Capsules

1. They don't do proper research
I know it's easy to just buy the first product that you come across and be done with, but this will severely restrict the benefits of green tea extract that you can get from a quality product. There are differences in the composition of the product (containing only green tea, or combined with other complimenting supplements) and the delivery method of the capsule (simple capsule or with enteric coating). Do some research and find out the different options available, and then decide which product suits you best.

2. They focus on capsules containing only green tea extract
This is not a mistake, per se, but more of an oversight really. This is so because the way these natural supplements work is, if you combine them together, the health benefits would be much more than if taken in isolation. In our case, the benefits of green tea extract would be enhanced manifold if taken together with ginger extract and natural pine bark extract.

While by itself green tea provides protection from cancer, diabetes and stomach ailments, the combination of these three extracts also provides protection against heart diseases, allergies, asthma, and also improves the body's immune system.

3. They take capsules without Enteric coating
When you take a normal supplement capsule, it gets dissolved in the stomach itself. Most of its active ingredients are destroyed by the acid present in the stomach, and the full health benefits of the capsule cannot be gained as a result of it. An enteric coating on the capsule prevents it from getting dissolved in the stomach. It releases its active ingredients in the small intestine only where they do not suffer any damage and are absorbed fully by the body.

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