In honor of chocolate

It would probably be a good Wellness Coach move on my part to talk with you about the health benefits of chocolate. But, haven't you read about those yet? If not, let me refer you to these:

• Why dark chocolate is healthy for your heart and has the right kind of fat.
• Chocolate: Fights tooth decay, insect bites, and increases lifespan of males. 
• Milk chocolate, bad. Dark chocolate, good.

This post is in honor of chocolate. Sound the trumpets. It tastes good. I love it. It makes me happy. With chocolate, I know we are all ONE. Ha ha. Throwing a little new age in the mix for good measure. Read on, for a post full of resources of the fair trade, organic, and raw kind...

Chocolate has played an important role in my life. I grew up with it and have fond memories as a former sugar addict with my Uno's, Snickers, Whatchamacallit's, Toffifay, Krackle, Three Musketeers, and, oh wait, I'm in the health field. Oops, I regressed, time for yoga. If you want to read more on my previous life with chocolate and how it changed, go here. Truth be told, whenever I walk by the candy aisle at a non health food store, I don't smell chocolate, I smell chemicals and processed sugar. That's not chocolate, and it's certainly not good for you.

Honoring chocolate isn't just about the tasty for me, it's also about the truth.

(Don't be fooled by the recent ads about the goodness of high fructose corn syrup - paid for by the Corn Refiners Association, of course. Conveniently, the CRA now has the top hit when you search for info on high fructose corn syrup. I wonder how much the AMA got paid for that quote on their front page.  Watch King Corn and read this.)

The bottom line is, there is always going to be conflicting information about what's good for you or not. Here's your cheat sheet - Made in nature, as close to its natural state = good. Made in a lab,  lots of added processing = not so good. Make no mistake folks, food is a political issue.

Now, on with the tasty, for your health and conscience.

Fair Trade chocolate uses clean ingredients, pays the worker a living wage, is environmentally sustainable, and has amenable (read non-abusive) working conditions. To learn more about Fair Trade, visit Global Exchange and read this. Some examples of high yum factor Fair Trade chocolate include: Ithaca Fine Chocolates, Equal Exchange, and Alter-Eco.

Organic chocolate uses ingredients that are non-gmo (GMO = Genetically Modified Organisms) and is free from herbicides and pesticides (yeah, because that's good for health). Some examples of amazingly delish Organic chocolate include: Green & Black's, Seeds of Change, and Dagoba.

Raw chocolate is, well, raw. It's nutrient dense (high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and even the love molecule PEA) and has active enzymes to help with digestion. You'd be delightfully surprised at how many choices there are for raw chocolate treats. Here are some mouth watering ones: Organic Mayan Truffles, The Raw Chocolate Company, Righteously Raw, Raw Chocolatier, Innocent Chocolate, and Raweos.

Got any to add to this list? Share here.

Comments

[JeanAnnVK]

YUM! I haven't ever had raw chocolate...so I will proceed directly to my local healthy store and buy some...great post!

[Cynthia McGregor]

Check out the free fair trade chocolates for Trick-o-treaters!

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/reversetrickortreating/

[James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.]

Secrets to a woman's heart? Chocolate and communication? (in that order)

[Vanessa Smith, MA, CLC]

Thanks for all your comments and resources. James - you are right on!