The Truth About Chocolate

The Bittersweet Truth About Chocolate Sweet, sweet chocolate -- first it was bad for you, then it was good for you. And now? As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Even when it comes to delicious dark chocolate, everything needs to be enjoyed in moderation. Top Ten Chocolate Manufacturers MARS Cadbury Schweppes A Nestlē FERRERO HERSHEY'S 1. Mars 2. Cadbury Schweppes 3. Nestle 4. Ferrero SpA 5. Hershey Food meiji Lindt Glico KRAFT BARRY CALLEBAUT 6. Kraft 7. Meiji Seika Kaisha 8. Lindt & Sprungli 9. Barry Callebaut 10. Glico Hershey's and MEM/Mars control two-thirds of the U.S. market. Minmar America is the largest consumer of chocolate in the world. The chocolate industry is expected to grow to $18 billion annually by 2011. $4 Purported health Organic products Fair trade products Growth in the choco- late industry, despite a flagging economy. benefits of dark chocolate Top Six Cacao Producing Countries: Only areas located within 20 degrees of the Equator can grow cacao. Ivory Coast: Produces 43% of the world's cacao. Nigeria Ghana 16% of the world's cacao. Cameroon Indonesia Cacao makes up 40% of export 15% of the world's cacao. Brazil revenues. More than 2 million cacao farmers. This includes areas of Africa, Asia, Central America, and South Africa. A report by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) found that 284,000 children were working on cacao farms, using machetes, pesticides, and insecticides. 12,500 of these children had no relatives in the area -- an indication of human trafficking. Ghocolate manufacturers buy cacao on interna- tional exchanges, a type of middleman, rather than buying directly from plantations. Their purchase might include beans from several different countries, all mixed together. This allows them to claim they aren't involved in slavery. Hi there! Fair trade chocolate attemnpts to eliminate the middle man and regulate the cacao industry, reducing slavery and ensuring cacao farmers are paid fairly. Chocolate has some health benefits, too. Researchers have found that chocolate is rich in antioxidants, does not raise bad cholesterol, and may keep blood pressure down. 40 grams (about 1.4 ounces) of milk chocolate has roughly 400 milligrams of antioxidants. That's equivalent to a glass of red wine. A five ounce glass of wine (the typical serving size) only has 121-125 calories. Hershey's Mille Chocolate HERSHEY'S 43 grams (1.5 ounces) 210 calories 110 calories from fat That's more than 6 teaspoons of sugar. 13 grams of fat Too much sugar can cause gum disease, unstable blood glucose, obesity, weak immune system, chromium deficiency, stress, and premature aging. 8 grams of saturated fat 24 grams of sugar Chocolate is the most frequently craved food. acalate... Although there are mood-altering ingredients in chocolate, like serotonin, tryptophan, phenylethylamine, tramine, and cannabinoids, they are found in higher concentrations in other foods. Chocolate's addictive quality more likely comes from our attitude about chocolate -- it's decadent and desirable. If, like the average American, you consume 12 pounds of chocolate a year and prefer milk chocolate, you're adding more than 26,500 calories per year. Son of a @#*%$ Chocolate is an energy dense food. You'd have to walk 150 feet to burn off a single chocolate chip! Chocolate isn't just bad for your waistline, it can be deadly to man's best friend. Theobromine, an ingredient in chocolate, is toxic to dogs, affecting their central nervous system and cardiac muscles. information provided by: www.WeightLoss.org Sources: http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/background.html http://www.icco.org/about/chocolate.aspx http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/facts.html http://www.mindbranch.com/Chocolate-R567-622/ http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/learn-about-cocoa/cocoa-facts-and-figures.html http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Chocolate%3A+who+makes+it, +who+eats+it-a0153513833 http://www.foodanddrinkeurope.com/Products-Marketing/Brits-top-European-chocolate-rankings http://www.purefood.org/starbucks/chocolate.cfm http://www.hersheys.com/products/details/hersheysbar.asp http://www.livestrong.com/article/75428-calories-carbs-wine/ http://www.beautyden.com/sugar.shtml http://www.science20.com/news_account/is_chocolate addictive http://www.candyfavorites.com/shop/chocolate-trivia.php http://www.infobarrel.com/10 Facts about Chocolate