Valentine's Day Chocolate Calories Bomb, How to Eat Healthy?
Feb 11, 2025
|
Many people's favorite milk chocolate usually contains only 20 to 30 percent cacao, and the rest is sugar, dairy, and vegetable fat, so each 100g contains about 550 ㎉, which is equivalent to a hamburger or a bowl of rice. 100 g of milk chocolate contains approximately 50 g of sugar, which is close to the recommended daily intake set by the World Health Organization (WHO). This means that if an adult consumes 2,000 ㎉ a day and eats one milk chocolate, he should not eat any other sugars that day.
White chocolate also contains little cacao and is mainly composed of cocoa butter, sugar, and milk. As a result, white chocolate has little antioxidant effect and is high in trans fat, which can cause problems such as soaring blood sugar, obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and tooth decay if consumed excessively.
If you really want to eat chocolate, it is desirable to choose dark chocolate for your health. At this time, you have to choose a product with a cacao content of 35% or more, because the higher the cacao content, the stronger the bitter taste and the lower the sugar and fat content. Flavonoids and polyphenols contained in dark chocolate are known to be beneficial to cardiovascular health by providing strong antioxidant effects, and studies have also been reported to help reduce blood pressure and improve blood circulation. The other major ingredient, tryptophan, also promotes serotonin secretion, which is beneficial for stabilizing mood and reducing stress.
In addition, antioxidants such as catechin, tannin, and vitamin E in chocolate help prevent cancer and aging by removing primadical and neutralizing free oxygen. Above all, cacao is rich in minerals such as potassium, iron, and phosphorus, which is beneficial for preventing constipation, improving anemia, and recovering from fatigue, the dietary fiber included helps intestinal health, and lecithin has a positive effect on brain activity.
It is also a good way to eat chocolate with nuts or fruits. Eating dark chocolate, nuts such as almonds and walnuts, or fruits such as strawberries and blueberries together can help your health as well as taste. Almonds and walnuts are beneficial for cardiovascular health because they contain abundant healthy fats, proteins, and vitamin E, and can be combined with antioxidants contained in chocolate to increase their effectiveness. Eating strawberries or blueberries rich in vitamin C also maximizes antioxidant effect and provides dietary fiber and minerals, which is also beneficial for digestion and health.
Lee Kyu-bae, a family medicine professor at Korea University's Anam Hospital, said "Chocolate contains good nutrients, but you must check the amount of calories, sugar, and fat and plan your intake in consideration of underlying diseases. In particular, milk chocolate and white chocolate are often high in sugar, and dark chocolate is also high in fat, so diabetic and hyperlipidemia patients need attention." Professor Lee also recommends avoiding excess because chocolate consumption can worsen symptoms in cases of reflux esophagitis. In addition, emulsifiers contained in chocolate are generally known to be safe, but there are health concerns due to large amounts of intake. Even on special days such as Valentine's Day, it is desirable to control chocolate consumption to 30g per day" he advised.
|
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
