Health Addiction

Come to the Dark Side...

Chocolate addicts, yes you. You know you're out there, not just women either.  Lots of folks who claim not to have a candy sweet tooth concede that they are powerless to fight off the charms of chocolate.  They (we) find themselves busting diets and succumbing to the massive amounts of sugar associated with the chocolate binging.  Well here's some good news: with a little tweaking and some careful steps, you can turn this dangerous obsession into a delightful health bonus without jacking up your insulin levels.

Downside to chocolate: Sugar, calories and caffeine.  I can't really speak to the caffeine, other than lay off the chocolate as you approach bed time.  The dangers of sugared-up milk chocolate are real.  Sugar should really be identified as enemy #1 to your health (far worse than fat which can be a real asset to your diet).  Sugar creates insulin spikes which wears out your pancreas and leads to insulin intolerance which is the fast track to diabetes. UGH. Sugar consumption leads to inflammation, the #1 cause of arthritis and general body pain and suffering.  And there's plenty of other science that's beyond me, but contains the same inevitable conclusion: When it comes to your health, Sugar just Sucks. Period.

I can hear you chocolate addicts now, "So what's the good news?"  Well, here are some steps to allow yourself to indulge in chocolate and really boost your immune system and overall health.  Almost sounds too good to be true.  It starts with one major step--you've got to go to the dark side.  Your tolerance of dark chocolate will determine whether your passion is chocolate or sugar.  Milk chocolate dials down the cocoa--the true source of chocolate flavor--and replaces it with massive amounts of the killer white. If you can't stand dark chocolate don't call yourself a chocolate lover, and good luck to you on the path to diabetes if you keep consuming the milky stuff in copious amounts.

For those of you still remaining, welcome. I'm Tim, a chocolate addict.  I love the complex, sophisticated taste of dark chocolate.  Goes incredibly well with red wine, and that's probably not a coincidence because they are both anti-oxident superpowers. I'm happy to say my addiction only applies only to the former and not the latter, so let's focus on the chocolate therapy to keep us all out of the doctor's office.  When shopping for chocolate, read the stats.  The higher the cocoa levels, the lower the sugar.  50% is a good starting point.  There are a lot of products with 55% cocoa, and it will remind you of mainstream milk chocolate, because it really isn't much of a departure.  You'll find these bars with yummy fruits inserted like raspberries and cherries, and that's only going to add to the sugar levels.  Try not to settle for these kinds of bars, because it's not sustainable.  While we are on the subject of chocolate bar additives, almonds, sea salt and chili peppers are all grand; cherries and other dried fruits are bad news. Dried fruit has significantly higher sugar levels than fresh fruits, which is already high.

Back to the chocolate...keep building up the cocoa levels in your bar, 70% is an ideal goal.  The taste is so complex, its hard to wolf down the really dark stuff.  Try a version with chili peppers, and maybe sip some cabernet, a sexy snack for a sophisticated palate (or just aged, burnt out taste buds!).  The 70% bar pictured above has only 24 grams of sugar in what I consider six generous servings, that's 4 grams of sugar per snack.  My favorite is to dip the dark chunks into gooey organic peanut butter. Not only does it taste fantastic, but the protein and fat counters the glycemic spike so there is barely a ripple on your insulin meter.  Dietary fat is a brain and energy boost, the dark chocolate is a world class anti-oxidant, and the protein from peanut butter is pure with no worries of dead animal flesh consumption.  This is a snack suitable for marathon runners, or just a couple of lovers on a Friday night.

So, live the chocolate dream...feel free to share the Choco-love.