Chocolate in Health and Nutrition


Book Description

Chocolate in Health and Nutrition represents the first comprehensive compilation of the newest data on the actions of the flavonoids and microorganisms associated with the beneficial effects of chocolate. This unique text provides practical, data-driven resources based upon the totality of the evidence to help the reader understand the basics, treatments and preventive strategies that are involved in the understanding of the role chocolate may play in healthy individuals as well as those with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or neurocognitive declines. Of equal importance, critical issues that involve patient concerns, such as dental caries and food preferences in children, potential effects on weight gain, addiction and withdrawal are included in well-referenced, informative chapters. The latest research on the role of chocolate in normal health areas including mood, pain and weight management, cardiovascular disease and related conditions are presented. Chocolate in Health and Nutrition provides health professionals in many areas of research and practice with the most up-to-date, well referenced and comprehensive volume on the current state of the science and medical uses of chocolate.




Cocoa, Chocolate and Human Health


Book Description

This book entitled “Cocoa, Chocolate, and Human Health” presents the most recent findings about cocoa and health in 14 peer-reviewed chapters including nine original contributions and five reviews from cocoa experts around the world. Bioavailability and metabolism of the main cocoa polyphenols, i.e., the flavanols like epicatechin, are presented including metabolites like valerolactones that are formed by the gut microbiome. Many studies, including intervention studies or epidemiological observations, do not focus on single compounds, but on cocoa as a whole. This proves the effectiveness of cocoa as a functional food. A positive influence of cocoa on hearing problems, exercise performance, and metabolic syndrome is discussed with mixed results; the results about exercise performance are contradictive. Evidence shows that cocoa flavanols may modulate some risk factors related to metabolic syndrome such as hypertension and disorders in glucose and lipid metabolism. However, several cardiometabolic parameters in type 2 diabetics were not affected by a flavanol-rich cocoa powder as simultaneous treatment with pharmaceuticals might have negated the effect of cocoa. The putative health-promoting components of cocoa are altered during processing like fermentation, drying, and roasting of cocoa beans. Chocolate, the most popular cocoa product, shows remarkable losses in polyphenols and vitamin E during 18 months of storage.




Chocolate and Health


Book Description

Cocoa and chocolate are the subjects of much research in the fields of food chemistry, food technology, and health science. We now know that cocoa contains a remarkable number of bioactive compounds, and these are being tested in humans to verify their disease prevention characteristics. This state of the art text thoroughly explores the different aspects of the relationship between chocolate and health. After introductory discussion of the historical background, careful attention is devoted to technological developments designed to improve the health-giving qualities of chocolate and biochemical and clinical trials of cocoa and its components. Various health impacts of cocoa and chocolate are thoroughly evaluated, including acute vascular effects and effects on blood pressure, blood lipids, and platelets. Psychological drivers of chocolate consumption and craving are also considered. Readers will find this book to be a rich source of essential information on cocoa and chocolate, their purported health-giving qualities, and the advances that are being made in this area.




Chocolate as Medicine


Book Description

The Mesoamerican population who lived near the indigenous cultivation sites of the "Chocolate Tree" (Theobromo cacao) had a multitude of documented applications of chocolate as medicine, ranging from alleviating fatigue to preventing heart ailments to treating snakebite. Until recently, these applications have received little sound scientific scrutiny. Rather, it has been the reputed health claims stemming from Europe and the United States which have attracted considerable biomedical attention. This book, for the first time, describes the centuries-long quest to uncover chocolate's potential health benefits. The authors explore variations in the types of evidence used to support chocolate's use as medicine as well as note the ongoing tension over categorizing chocolate as food or medicine, and more recently, as functional food or nutraceutical. The authors, Wilson an historian of science and medicine, and Hurst an analytical chemist in the chocolate industry, bring their collective insights to bear upon the development of ideas and practices surrounding the use of chocolate as medicine. Chocolate's use in this manner is explored first among the Mesoamerican peoples, then as it is transported to Europe, and back into Colonial North America. The authors then focus upon more recent bioscience experimental undertakings which have been aimed to ascertain both long-standing and novel suggestions as to chocolate's efficacy as a medicinal and a nutritional substance. Chocolate/s reputation as the most craved food boosts this book's appeal to food and biomedical scientists, cacao researchers, ethnobotanists, historians, folklorists, and healers of all types as well as to the general reading audience.




Phytochemicals in Human Health


Book Description

Naturally present bioactive compounds in plants are referred to as "Phytochemicals" and are being studied extensively for their role in human health. Studies have shown that they can have an important role to play in the prevention and management of several human diseases. Recognizing the increasing interest in this area, this book is being published in response to the need for more current information globally about phytochemicals and their role in human health. Chapters of the book are authored by internationally recognized authors who are experts in their respective field of expertise. The chapters represent both original research as well as up-to-date and comprehensive reviews. We are sure that the book will be an important reference source meeting the needs of a wide range of interest groups.




The Uses of Cocoa and Cupuaçu Byproducts in Industry, Health, and Gastronomy


Book Description

This book compiles technical, chemical and nutritional information in regards to the main species of the Theobroma genus, T. cacao and T. grandiflorum. The use of Theobroma cacao processing residues (pod and bean husks) as organic fertilizers, ingredients for animal feeding, sources of enzymes, fiber, hydrocolloids, and antioxidants, industrial biosorbents, and polymers for foams to formulate culture media, such as alkalis for soap production and as phenylalanine-free ingredients are discussed. T. cacao and T. grandiflorum phytochemical composition changes during processing and its importance on consumer health is stressed in order to contribute to clarify phytochemical function, their chemical structure, and how post-harvest processing could change them. The innovative use of chocolate as a carrier of encapsulated probiotics is also discussed. The development and application of the micro-encapsulation to increase the resistance of probiotic strains in chocolate-based matrices, uses of the main probiotic strains in the production of chocolates and derivatives, research involving the incorporation of probiotics in chocolates, and related products and symbiotic chocolates and future prospects in this area are all emphsized. The correlation between the consumption of cocoa and chocolate and human health is stressed, and experimental studies that have pointed out the beneficial effects of cocoa and dark chocolate consumption are compiled and discussed. This book reports research that clearly demonstrates that cocoa components have an important antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and photo-protective role in pathologies (cognitive impairment, inflammatory bowel disease, dental health, skin photo-protection, and cancer) in which inflammation is one of the main features. Byproducts from the Theobroma genus are without a doubt one of the main ingredients in the gastronomic and food styling area. This book compiles recipes of both salty and sweet cuisine, as well as beverages prepared with ingredients from T. cacao and T. grandiflorum. The recipes are detailed with their correspondent nutritional information. This research shows that the versatility of products from Theobroma cacao and Theobroma grandiflorum are traditional, yet contemporary in a variety of beautiful and fancy dishes in gourmet cuisine.




The Economics of Chocolate


Book Description

This book, written by global experts, provides a comprehensive and topical analysis on the economics of chocolate. While the main approach is economic analysis, there are important contributions from other disciplines, including psychology, history, government, nutrition, and geography. The chapters are organized around several themes, including the history of cocoa and chocolate — from cocoa drinks in the Maya empire to the growing sales of Belgian chocolates in China; how governments have used cocoa and chocolate as a source of tax revenue and have regulated chocolate (and defined it by law) to protect consumers' health from fraud and industries from competition; how the poor cocoa producers in developing countries are linked through trade and multinational companies with rich consumers in industrialized countries; and how the rise of consumption in emerging markets (China, India, and Africa) is causing a major boom in global demand and prices, and a potential shortage of the world's chocolate.




Eat to Beat Disease


Book Description

Eat your way to better health with this New York Times bestseller on food's ability to help the body heal itself from cancer, dementia, and dozens of other avoidable diseases. Forget everything you think you know about your body and food, and discover the new science of how the body heals itself. Learn how to identify the strategies and dosages for using food to transform your resilience and health in Eat to Beat Disease. We have radically underestimated our body's power to transform and restore our health. Pioneering physician scientist, Dr. William Li, empowers readers by showing them the evidence behind over 200 health-boosting foods that can starve cancer, reduce your risk of dementia, and beat dozens of avoidable diseases. Eat to Beat Disease isn't about what foods to avoid, but rather is a life-changing guide to the hundreds of healing foods to add to your meals that support the body's defense systems, including: Plums Cinnamon Jasmine tea Red wine and beer Black Beans San Marzano tomatoes Olive oil Pacific oysters Cheeses like Jarlsberg, Camembert and cheddar Sourdough bread The book's plan shows you how to integrate the foods you already love into any diet or health plan to activate your body's health defense systems-Angiogenesis, Regeneration, Microbiome, DNA Protection, and Immunity-to fight cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative autoimmune diseases, and other debilitating conditions. Both informative and practical, Eat to Beat Disease explains the science of healing and prevention, the strategies for using food to actively transform health, and points the science of wellbeing and disease prevention in an exhilarating new direction.




Chocolate Science and Technology


Book Description

This book provides an overview of the science and technology of chocolate manufacture from cocoa production, through the manufacturing processes, to the sensory, nutrition and health aspects of chocolate consumption. It covers cocoa cultivation and production with special attention paid to cocoa bean composition, genotypic variations in the bean, post-harvest pre-treatments, fermentation and drying processes, and the biochemical basis of these operations. The scientific principles behind industrial chocolate manufacture are outlined with detailed explanations of the various stages of chocolate manufacturing including mixing, refining, conching and tempering. Other topics covered include the chemistry of flavour formation and development during cocoa processing and chocolate manufacture; volatile flavour compounds and their characteristics and identification; sensory descriptions and character; and flavour release and perception in chocolate. The nutritional and health benefits of cocoa and chocolate consumption are also addressed. There is a focus throughout on those factors that influence the flavour and quality characteristics of the finished chocolate and that provide scope for process optimization and improvement. The book is designed to be a desk reference for all those engaged in the business of making and using chocolate worldwide; confectionery and chocolate scientists in industry and academia; students and practising food scientists and technologists; nutritionists and other health professionals; and libraries of institutions where food science is studied and researched. an overview of the science behind chocolate manufacture covers the whole process from cocoa production, through manufacturing, to the nutrition and health aspects of chocolate consumption focuses on factors that influence chocolate flavour and quality, and that provide scope for process optimization and improvement.




Caffeine for the Sustainment of Mental Task Performance


Book Description

This report from the Committee on Military Nutrition Research reviews the history of caffeine usage, the metabolism of caffeine, and its physiological effects. The effects of caffeine on physical performance, cognitive function and alertness, and alleviation of sleep deprivation impairments are discussed in light of recent scientific literature. The impact of caffeine consumption on various aspects of health, including cardiovascular disease, reproduction, bone mineral density, and fluid homeostasis are reviewed. The behavioral effects of caffeine are also discussed, including the effect of caffeine on reaction to stress, withdrawal effects, and detrimental effects of high intakes. The amounts of caffeine found to enhance vigilance and reaction time consistently are reviewed and recommendations are made with respect to amounts of caffeine appropriate for maintaining alertness of military personnel during field operations. Recommendations are also provided on the need for appropriate labeling of caffeine-containing supplements, and education of military personnel on the use of these supplements. A brief review of some alternatives to caffeine is also provided.