Reasons you will be seeing a lot of cocoa products in the market this season
These days, many kinds of chocolates, esp. cocoa rich ones, can be seen in the convenience stores, local shops and in the markets. With festive days like Halloween, Christmas and New year round the corner, the shops tend to flamboyantly advertise these confectionaries to woo the customers, and we may find chocolates that include many cocoa products in the lineup, for example, cacao 72%, Meiji Black chocolate etc.
One may wonder as to why the consumption of cocoa (cacao)-rich chocolates has grown in Japan? I would like to throw light on some of the reasons for their soaring popularity.
The merits of eating cocoa (cacao)-rich chocolate
- Prevents hardening of the arteries
2. Lowers blood pressure
3. Contains antioxidants that helps prevent cancer
4. These antioxidants also help reduce stress
These effects are caused by Polyphenols. Chocolates, as a fact, contain cocoa (cacao) and cocoa in considered rich in Polyphenols, which are the compounds that can be found abundantly in natural plant & food sources that have antioxidant properties. They control the radical damage to your tissue cells determining what rate you age. When such free radicals become pervasive they lead to tissue damage and in turn affect the growth of the cells. These factors can lead to a higher risk for diseases like heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease, just to name some.
Cocoa (cacao) is also rich in vitamins & minerals and hence, cocoa-rich chocolate has been and probably would still continue to gather popularity.
But one must take care as not to eat them excessively as cocoa (cacao)-rich chocolates contain more lipids and calorie content compared to normal chocolate. So, I would definitely advice you to eat them but under a certain limit!
