In honour of World Chocolate Day on 7 July, we delve into the health benefits of chocolate. You can thank us later!

Chocolate – one of the most consumed foods in the world – contains flavonoids, an antioxidant compound present in cocoa pulp, which can cause negative effects on human vascular health. 

However, new studies have explored the benefits of adding nutritional oils to food products, and found that adding high oleic peanut oil can increase the bioactive property of dark chocolate, leading to significant health benefits!

 High oleic peanut oil

 

Adding microcapsules of high oleic peanut oil reduces the lipid content of dark chocolate and influences the nutritional composition, thus increasing the content of unsaturated fatty acids in the lipid fraction of chocolate. 

Studies have demonstrated that by adding microcapsules to the chocolate mass, the fat content would not rise, which means dark chocolate containing microcapsules has a lower amount of free fat. Therefore, the use of microcapsules can act as an alternative to protecting the fatty acids.

 

Phenolic compounds

Natural antioxidants are highly valued because they are protective agents and highly sought out to replace synthetic ones in plant products. A broad range of plant foods including cocoa have been sources of phenolic compounds. 

Trans-resveratrol, a phenolic compound is frequently associated with prevention of cancer, ischemias, diabetes, inflammations and viral infections. During chocolate production, the content of phenolic compounds naturally present in cocoa beans becomes lost or reduced. Therefore, it is important to minimise the loss of phenolic compounds. 

 

Although, phenolic compounds are essential to obtaining good quality coca beans, they also have a potentially negative influence on flavour conferring to bitterness. Understanding the factors that influence the losses of phenolic compounds is important in obtaining the final product with the desirable sensory attributes.

There is considerable evidence that cocoa with high oleic peanut oil and cocoa with high content of phenolic compounds can provide powerful health benefits, especially against heart disease. 

2019 has been declared by UNESCO as the Year of the Periodic Table. To celebrate, we are releasing a series of blogs about our favourite elements and their importance to the chemical industry. Today’s blog is about the importance of potassium in human health.

Potassium plays an essential role to health, being the third most important mineral in the body. The human body requires at least 1000mg of potassium a day in order to support key bodily processes. 

Potassium regulates fluid balance in the body, controls the electrical activity of the heart, muscles, and helps in activating nerve impulses throughout the nervous system. 

According to an article from Medical News Today Knowledge Center, the possible health benefits to a regular diet intake of potassium include maintaining the balance of acids and bases in the body, supporting blood pressure, improving cardiovascular health, and helping with bone and muscle strength.

These powerful health benefits are linked to a potassium rich diet. Potassium is present in all fruits, vegetables, meat and fish.

 

Receptors on a cell membrane.

Can it go wrong?

The body maintains the potassium level in the blood. If the potassium level is too high in the body (hyperkalemia) or if it is too low (hypokalemia) then this can cause serious health consequences, including an abnormal heart rhythm or even a cardiac arrest. 

Fortunately, cells in the body store a large reservoir of potassium which can be released to maintain a constant level of potassium in blood.

What is hyperkalemia? Video: Osmosis

Potassium deficiency leads to fatigue, weakness and constipation. Within muscle cells, potassium would normally send signals from the brain that stimulate contractions. However, if potassium levels steep too low, the brain is not able to relay these signals from the brain to the muscles, the results end in more prolonged contractions which includes muscle cramping.

As potassium is an essential mineral carrying out wide ranging roles in the body, the low intakes can lead to an increase in illness. The FDA has made a health claim, stating that ‘diets containing foods that are a good source of potassium and that are low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.’

This suggests that consuming more potassium might reduce the risks of high blood pressure and the possibility of strokes. However, more research on dietary and supplemental potassium is required before drawing towards a set conclusion.