Types of chocolate Essay Example for Free

Types of chocolate Essay Do you like chocolate? How many times do you eat chocolates in a day? Some people like to eat chocolates, some are even obsessed with them. Some people don’t like chocolates because those people think that they will make them fat. Some people just don’t like chocolates, without any clear reason. I believe that chocolate has many benefits which we can’t underestimate. Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. It is Greek for â€Å"drink of Gods†. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC. Chocolate has to be processed from cocoa to be the chocolates we know. Most chocolates are brown-colored, even though there’s a variant of chocolate with white color called â€Å"white chocolate†. Chocolates come in many forms, for example, â€Å"chocolate bar†, â€Å"chocolate wafer†, â€Å"chocolate stick†, and so on. I personally like chocolate bars or chocolate balls. Chocolates have wide range of prices and you can find them in many places. There are chocolates which are very inexpensive, there are also chocolates that are costly. Chocolates are also easy to get, we can find chocolates everywhere. I love chocolates that are very delicious but not too expensive. Chocolates are very close to our life, we often eat them to gain pleasure. Chocolates are one of the most popular holiday gifts. The International Chocolate Day is observed on 13 September. Actually, chocolates have many benefits. That’s why we should not underestimate the power of chocolates. First, chocolate functions as remedy. In Harry Potter films, to heal Dementor’s Kiss, one must eat chocolates. Dementor is a creature in Harry Potter world that can absorb a person’s happiness by â€Å"kissing† them. We can say that Dementor is the manifestation of sadness and sorrow, while chocolates are the manifestation of happiness and joy. So, metaphorically, it says that to lessen sadness, we should eat chocolates. This thing is true because eating chocolates release endorphins in our brain, which can make us feel happier and more relaxed. Chocolate is a good stress-buster, it contains valeric acid that can immediately relax our muscles and nervous system. In my personal experience, when I eat chocolates, I feel satisfied. Second, chocolate can make us more beautiful. In fact, nutritionists claim that there are certain types of chocolate that can make our skin look more healthy and radiant. The high content of flavonoid in dark chocolate can moisturize and make our skin naturally shining and smooth. This ingredient can also absorb UV that can contribute to a better blood flow. There is also a chocolate-based mask, it’s believed that using chocolate mask can prevent wrinkles. Third, chocolate is beneficial for our health. Dark chocolate has been shown in studies to lower blood pressure in people with elevated blood pressure. Eating dark chocolate on a regular basis has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (unhealthy cholesterol) by as much as one percent. Several studies have found chocolates to be one of the best cancer-fighting foods. Chocolate works as cancer fighters by inhibiting cell division and reducing inflammation. Fourth, Chocolate makes us smarter. Again, it’s that increased blow flow to the brain. One recent study revealed that seniors who ate chocolate reported sharper cognitive ability for several a hours after eating it. According to a study done by the Department of Nutrition at the University of Oslo in Norway, people who regularly eat chocolate scored higher on cognitive tests than those who didn’t report eating as much chocolate. Fifth, Chocolate can unite people. Most people like chocolates. I usually share my chocolates to people, and they like them. Sharing can provoke happiness, sharing chocolates can make people happy and satisfied. But, there are a few cautions that we need to know when we want to eat chocolates. It doesn’t mean that we have to stop eating chocolates, but we just have to control it. There are limits in every human’s life, and eating chocolate has some limits too. First, chocolate can be addictive. If we’re addicted to chocolate, any kind of chocolates, it’s most likely that we will spend your money to buy it. We need to know that our money can be spent on many useful things like buying other healthy foods. Second, chocolate is a little bit dangerous. It’s high in oxalate which can cause kidney stones. According to sciencedirect. com, fifteen samples of commercially available cocoa powder were collected from four different countries, the total oxalate contents ranged from 360 to 567 mg/100 g DM. Oxalate is also found in spinach and almonds. Third, 50% of all chocolate, cocoa and chocolate flavoring is harvested by slaves, many of them are children. The cruelty of humanity is inserted in form of chocolate. Using slaves is very wrong, it’s a degradation of humanity. Those children aren’t able to get freedom. As humans, we should have empathy toward those child slaves. There are ways to overcome these obstacles in consuming chocolate. So, we don’t need to worry about consuming chocolate. First, eat other healthy foods other than chocolates. Our body needs much nutrition and chocolate can’t replace those foods. Focus on eating nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables or fish. We can spend our money on buying those healthy foods. Second, don’t eat it too much. I’m sure that chocolate isn’t that dangerous because it’s allowed to be eaten worldwide. And oxalate is also found in other kind of foods like spinach and almonds, but those foods are still eaten by people. So, I think we can still eat chocolate. But, just in case, don’t eat it too much. Third, eat chocolate from organic chocolate companies and fair-trade chocolate companies. Fair-trade is an organized social movement that aims to help producers in developing countries to make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Organic chocolate is linked to fair trade because most organic chocolate companies also support fair trade. Fair-trade chocolate companies don’t employ children to be their workers. Organic chocolate/fair-trade chocolate may be more expensive than regular chocolate, but I think it’s worth it. Because we don’t need to eat happily while the child slaves are suffering. So, chocolate is very good to eat because it has many advantages. But, chocolate also has some disadvantages. There are ways to overcome these disadvantages. We can eat chocolate but we have to control the consumption of it. We should also eat chocolate from organic chocolate companies and fair-trade chocolate companies.