Ned Sonntag
Outermost Hoodoo Doctor
Nestle's may've purchased Reuters at some point and Reuters may've forgotten to give us the news... are Nestle's and Barry Callebaut competitors or collaborators?
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...c=061906_15_ARTICLE_PROMO_also_on_reutersneff
By Josiane Kremer and Isabel Strassheim
ZURICH (Reuters) - The ancient Mayan and Aztec people believed that chocolate increased wisdom, energy, vitality, and sexual power, but in the intervening centuries it has been recategorized as an unhealthy indulgence.
Now the world's biggest industrial chocolate maker, Barry Callebaut, is rediscovering the medicinal properties of the cocoa bean and using them to produce "healthy chocolate".:bow:
For those who think the only health benefit of chocolate comes from remembering Valentine's Day, Hans Vriens, Barry Callebaut's chief innovation officer, has a few welcome surprises up his sleeve.
"The cocoa bean has more than 600 components; 230 of those have potential health benefits," he said in an interview with Reuters.
These health benefits stem from polyphenols, which are naturally found at a higher level in the cocoa bean than in broccoli or even green tea. These chemical compounds act as antioxidants, which protect cells from damage.
The snag is that traditional chocolate production has usually destroyed most of those compounds.
"If we can preserve some of those components, we actually have functional chocolate, and people can feel a lot less guilty about eating it. They are actually doing something good," Vriens said.:eat1:
The group's new production process, known as "Acticoa", ensures that a high level of polyphenols are maintained during manufacturing, allowing the Swiss chocolate maker to produce "healthy chocolate" without altering the taste. Continued...
< Previous 1 | 2 | 3 Next > © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...c=061906_15_ARTICLE_PROMO_also_on_reutersneff
By Josiane Kremer and Isabel Strassheim
ZURICH (Reuters) - The ancient Mayan and Aztec people believed that chocolate increased wisdom, energy, vitality, and sexual power,
but in the intervening centuries it has been recategorized as an unhealthy indulgence.Now the world's biggest industrial chocolate maker, Barry Callebaut, is rediscovering the medicinal properties of the cocoa bean and using them to produce "healthy chocolate".:bow:
For those who think the only health benefit of chocolate comes from remembering Valentine's Day, Hans Vriens, Barry Callebaut's chief innovation officer, has a few welcome surprises up his sleeve.
"The cocoa bean has more than 600 components; 230 of those have potential health benefits," he said in an interview with Reuters.
These health benefits stem from polyphenols, which are naturally found at a higher level in the cocoa bean than in broccoli or even green tea. These chemical compounds act as antioxidants, which protect cells from damage.
The snag is that traditional chocolate production has usually destroyed most of those compounds.
"If we can preserve some of those components, we actually have functional chocolate, and people can feel a lot less guilty about eating it. They are actually doing something good," Vriens said.:eat1:
The group's new production process, known as "Acticoa", ensures that a high level of polyphenols are maintained during manufacturing, allowing the Swiss chocolate maker to produce "healthy chocolate" without altering the taste.
Continued... < Previous 1 | 2 | 3 Next > © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
