Dr. Mercola October 09 2007 95,856 views
Going against the grain of an industry campaign to allow vegetable oil to be substituted for cocoa butter – and still be called chocolate – Mars Inc. has decided to not mess with its recipes.
About a dozen food industry groups are pushing to change long standing federal standards to allow cocoa butter to be replaced with up to five percent of another vegetable fat, which could save chocolate manufacturers millions of dollars.
Currently, manufacturers are allowed to substitute cocoa butter in their products, but they are not allowed to call it chocolate. Many consumers, and some within the chocolate industry, have protested against the proposed change to degrade the quality of “genuine chocolate.”
The European Union has already used a five percent vegetable oil ceiling in their chocolate since 2003.
The maker of M&M’s, Dove chocolate, and Snickers will continue to use 100 percent cocoa butter in its U.S. chocolate products.
ABC News September 17, 2007
No doubt about it, chocolate is big business, and chocolate lovers are passionate about their chocolate. Hopefully this industry push to degrade an already questionable food product will not go through, because although SOME chocolate can be good for you, in modest amounts, processed milk chocolate is not – whether it’s made with 100 percent cocoa butter or vegetable oil substitutes.
The Danger of Processed Chocolate
A 2005 study published in the Environmental Health Perspectives found that processed chocolate could be contaminated with extremely high quantities of lead.
However, this was not a new discovery; it had been assumed that cocoa plants were tainted by leaded gasoline. However, a team of researchers found that lead levels in processed chocolate were 60 times higher than could be accounted for by the leaded gasoline theory. Unfortunately, they were unable to pin down whether the additional contamination comes from the shipping, or the manufacturing process itself.
This is a concern, as elevated blood lead levels in children can produce learning disabilities, including damage to a child's ability to think, plan, organize, and memorize.
With this in mind, I hope you’re loading up on natural whole food treats rather than miniature chocolate bars for the annual Death by Sugar festivities – oops, I mean Halloween -- which is just around the corner.
The Difference Between Healthy and Unhealthy Chocolate
Dark, unprocessed chocolate, on the other hand, has been exonerated in several studies as actually having some positive impact on your health.
But what makes dark chocolate so much better than milk chocolate?
Dark chocolate contains flavonols, which have antioxidant properties that can help protect your body from damaging oxidative stress, and there’s evidence that consumption of dark chocolate can improve your:
Researchers may have pinpointed the reason for chocolate's cardiovascular benefits by looking at the health of the Kuna Indians of Panama, who consume three to four cups of flavanol-rich cocoa daily.
One of these flavonols -- epicatechin -- was responsible for the vascular benefits the Kuna Indians experienced when they drank certain cocoas. These benefits included:
The concentration of flavonols in any chocolate depends on:
Dark chocolate contains a relatively high concentration of flavonols, and researchers believe that the regulation of nitric oxide production by the flavonols found in dark chocolate could explain its positive effects on insulin sensitivity and blood pressure.
Adding milk to the process, however (to create the milk chocolate bars you find in most grocery stores), cancels out the beneficial antioxidant effects of chocolate.
In fact, researchers suggest proteins in the milk bind with antioxidants, making them less easily absorbed by your body. That’s not surprising, considering how pasteurized milk affects you.
Additionally, the standard manufacturing process of chocolate destroys about one-quarter to one-half of its flavonoid content although some companies now use processing methods with reduced heat and alkalization, which can preserve as much as 70 percent to 95 percent of the chocolate flavonoid.
Tips for Chocolate Lovers
I think it's important to keep in mind that you can derive a majority of these antioxidant benefits by consuming fruits like blueberries, apples, and grapes, and most vegetables, including broccoli, greens, and onions. This is obviously the method I would recommend over eating chocolate.
But, if you really love chocolate, these common sense tips can help you indulge safely:
Keep in mind that if you’re constantly craving sweets, you’re most likely not eating the correct balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates for your nutritional type. And, once you get most of the sugar out of your diet, your desire for commercially made sweets, including chocolate, will change dramatically.
If you tend to crave chocolate when you are upset, bored, or lonely, then you could benefit from resolving these underlying emotional issues (and we all have them) that are driving you to seek comfort from chocolate.
M&M Mars is the largest buyer of cacao beans in the world and they also have the greatest profit margin. The W.H.O. has asked them to purchase fair-trade beans and they will not even consider it. Cacao beans are farmed by some of the poorest farmers in the world who are forced to put their children to work to eek out a living. Real cocoa-butter or not, my family will continue to boycott M&M Mars products. -Laurie
Good Day to you Uncle Russ! here‘s the link to find out WHO OWNS WHAT for organic companies - beforewarned - it‘s not always pretty :)
cornucopia.org/.../who-owns-organic
It doesn't matter if Mars Candy Bars adds vegetable oil - their products are GENETICALLY ENGINEERED IRRADIATED crap Primary ingredient in Mars Candy Bars is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP 100% of all conventionally grown corn in America is Genetically Engineered grown with anhyrdrous ammonia based petrochemical fertilziers
Soy oil, canola oil unless it is certified organically grown there is a 100% chance it is also genetically engineered
80% of American supermarket food has HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SOY OIL and CANOLA OIL and NOT LABELLED as genetically engineered and irradiated - because the FDA and USDA are in collusion with transnational corporate agribusiness which in my humble opinion is just a fancy way of saying "Corporate Mafia" cartels - right?
Nothing Mars Candies makes is fit for human consumption
I didn't know Seeds of Change was sold to Mars Candies until I read the www.cornucopia.org Flow Chart of "Who Owns Organics". I had been paying a whopping $2.39 a tiny one gram for their seeds because I was naieve and ingenuous enough to believe it was actually organic and GMO free - but who knows whether or not to believe them?
For all you gardeners out there - check out this in a Google Search
for the website:
Renee's Garden - great GMO Free seeds and heirloom, antique varieties
of certified organic seeds - family owned
Botanical Interest - family owned, small company - lots of organic seeds
they are firmly committed to GMO free seeds!
www.synergyseeds.com P.O. Box 415
Willow Creek, California 95573
Steve's farmed organically 30+ yrs He is a "Movement Person" from 1960's well known activist in Permaculture & Sustainable Agriculture movement in California Specializes in heirloom, antique seeds
Tell Steve "Colleen from Sacramento told me - you met her at Full Belly Farm in Guinda"
Laurie, have you contacted Mars about this issue? I bet if a large number of people let them know that they want fair trade chocolate, it would make more of an impact than boycotting alone.
I have replaced regular rooibos tea with fair trade/organic rooibos, and I have to say the quality is better. I wonder if the same holds true for fair trade chocolate?
Doesn't MARS and most other candy makers use genetically engineered ingredients?
For those looking for a good dark chocolate from a company that really does care about the health of people and the planet, check out Chocamaca from Amazon Herb Company (www.amazonherb.net/Group06_Chocamaca.aspx).
The company pays to have everything hand-inspected when it comes into the US so it is not irradiated. The products truly are 100% natural, and the company has helped indigenous communities get title to their land which has stood up in court. You can read about all of this on their site as well.
It does use a network marketing model but the link I've provided goes only to the corporate site, not to a site that would allow me to benefit in any way.
I'm not a chocoholic, but I'm vegan so the chocamaca makes a great dessert when I'm out and there are no vegan desserts to be had. And just one makes a great yummy snack from time to time. I don't think the info is on the site but a study found that 4 chocamaca balls is more healthy than many food/energy bars. (And I could never eat that many, 2 is my max!)
Glad I found this site, I'll be checking out the list of who owns which brand!
Thank you for the information on European chocolates. In Japan, cocoa butter substitutes are allowed and, along with sugar, top the list of ingredients in most chocolate. Even with very dark (80% cacao) chocolate, I recommend confirming the ingredients before buying.