Essay - Chocolate: Behind Its Bad Rap Chapter One - Introduction to...

Chocolate: Behind Its Bad Rap

Chapter One - Introduction to the Problem

Introduction ***** the Problem

In today's society, chocolate is everywhere. It seems that people have developed a love*****hate relationship with chocolate. According to the US Department of Commerce, in 1997, the average American ate 11.7 pounds of chocol*****. American adults ranked chocolate as the most-craved food and as their favorite flavor by a three-to-one margin. (Mustad, 2001)

***** the world, exists a society of ***** lovers. While Americans consume, on *****, nearly twelve pounds ***** chocolate per year, we are not the biggest fans. The British eat 16½ pounds and ***** Swiss, the inventors of milk chocolate, consume the most at 22 pounds per person.

*****, while ***** love it, they can't help feeling a pang of guilt when eating ***** because over the years, chocolate has gotten a "bad rap" as being an unhealthy food. However, recent research is slowly unraveling the hidden truth about ***** - that it might actually be beneficial to a b*****l*****ced diet. (Bloom, Mustad)

Despite its name, a typical "*****" chocolate bar provides less than 10 percent of the daily recommended amount of calcium. But, surprisingly, a government survey shows that chocolate ***** products containing ***** make substantial contributions to our daily intake of copper, an essential mineral in the prevention of *****emia and, possibly, heart disease and cancer. Chocolate also provides significant amounts of magnesium, which plays a role in regulating blood pressure and building bones. (Edmundson, 1996)

***** Myths

Before examining ***** possible benefits of chocolate, it is important to understand the myths surrounding ***** delectable *****.

Many people believe that the fat in ***** will cause high levels of cholesterol in ***** blood. However, s*****ce it is a product of plants, chocolate does not contain cholesterol. It is ***** saturated fat that is the culprit of increasing cholesterol in the blood. (Bloom)

***** acid, which ***** the ma***** saturated fat found in chocolate, ***** not raise blood cholesterol levels. A study in which subjects *****d a 1.4 oz. chocolate ***** instead of a high c*****rbohydrate snack revealed that ***** chocolate bar did ***** raise low*****density lipoprotein levels, known as LDL or "***** cholesterol," but actually incre*****ed high-density lipoprotein *****, known as HDL or "good *****."

Many people also look down at chocolate as completely lacking in vitamins and ********** but this is also untrue. When comparing the nutritional values of chocolate milk ***** regular milk, it is e*****y to see that chocolate milk has much more sugar than regular milk. Still, it ***** *****s higher levels of zinc, potassium, copper and *****. (Steinberg, 2001)

***** chocolate ***** a major source ***** copper, which helps ***** body use iron ***** aids in the development of connective tissue, ***** vessels, and skin, ***** magnesium, ***** is part of the bone structure and plays an important role in the nervous system and ***** the break down of protein. Another bonus for chocolate milk is that children are more likely ***** get more