Thursday, May 09, 2002


thanks for all the email about the recent chocolate news. . .

but i just don't have enough information yet to give an opinion. the group that is suing chocolate manufacturers claim chocolate naturally contains a dangerous amount of lead. that chocolate may naturally contain lead could be true; plants absorb all kinds of mineral from the soil. the news stories i've seen are just too vague on the details. does a chocolate bar contain more naturally occuring lead than, say, a carrot? is the lead actually natural in chocolate, or does it come from chemical fertilizers or pesticides? and how much of that natural lead makes its way from bean to bar? and of that final amount, what percentage is it of recommended safety levels?

i just haven't found enough answers. . .i'll have to report more after research. . .

what did catch my eye today was this article on fat in the diet. what's this got to do with chocolate?

". . . a type called stearic acid, which, like olive oil, raises the 'good' HDL cholesterol in the blood."

bingo. stearic acid, that heart-healthy fatty acid found in cocoa butter. and because of it, i can say with a straight face to all my readers -- help your heart, eat your 1.4 oz. of premium chocolate every day!

look for a brand that is all cocoa butter. many chocolate makers substitute some lecithin for chocolate's natural cocoa butter, selling off some of the butter to luxury cosmetics makers for a good price. but we want as much of that stearic acid as possible, so i might suggest eating lecithin-free chocolate like bernard castelain, slitti, or cluizel.

posted by fortune | 5:22 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments