Soul Food: Chocolate

by Sumi Chen

Chocolate is one of my favorite soul-food that is often savored to give the wicked pleasure. When the chocolate melts so creamy and soft in the mouth, it gives the euphoric feeling.

From a psychological perspective, chocolate is proven scientifically to ignite your senses and help to release endorphins (i.e. the happy hormones). In this sense, chocolate is indeed a soul-food that can help to uplift your mood and feelings.

Of course, one cannot consume too much chocolate. The chocolate that we have been consuming is full of sugar and additives that are not too friendly for our general health. This is not the 'true' chocolate and the 'true' chocolate is true chocolate is rather bitter.

Nevertheless, chocolate in its raw cacao form is a natural superfood. This is not a fact that our researchers have recently discover. This fact have been around since the Mayan and Aztec civilization! The raw cacao is sacred to the Mayans thousands of years ago.

All real chocolate is made from cacao and eaten in its pure raw form is extremely rich with anti-oxidants and magnesium. Cacao is a natural source of antioxidants - polyphenols, catechin, epicatechin and gallic acid. These antioxidants are essential to deneutralize free radicals and help to provide significant protection to cardiovascular health. Studies have also indicated that cacao can provide more than 21 times the free radical protection of green tea.

Of course, the bitter true chocolate is rather hard to swallow but when combined with other superfoods like blueberries, strawberries, acai berries, coffee berry and such in Berry Radical Superfood, the true chocolate is much more palatable.