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NUTRITION DATA
Nutrition Data for HEALTH BY CHOCOLATE recipes (pdf document - 957 KB)MORE RESEARCH
Chocolate may be good for liver patients (pdf document - 24 KB)MEDIA COVERAGE of HEALTH BY CHOCOLATE!
Bestsellers / The Charts
The Edmonton JournalPublished: Sunday, December 09 2007
Edmonton Top 10
This bestseller list has been compiled by Greenwoods' Bookshoppe, Laurie Greenwood's Volume II and Audreys Books. Bracketed figures indicate the book's position the previous week.
Non-Fiction
1. (2) Health by Chocolate -- Victoria Laine*
2. (1) Laptop Diaries -- Lynda Steele*
3. (4) The Daring Book for Girls -- Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz
4. (3) Eat, Pray, Love -- Elizabeth Gilbert
5. (9) Clapton -- Eric Clapton
6. (5) The Dangerous Book for Boys -- Con Iggulden and Hal Iggulden
7. (-) Untamed Spirit -- Doris Maron*
8. (6) Musicophilia -- Oliver Sacks
9. (-) Into the Wild -- Jon Krakauer
10. (-) This is Your Brain on Music -- Daniel J. Levitin
/ed gift guide, part 2: for lovers of beer, chocolate, pizza
/ed staff, edmontonjournal.comPublished: Wednesday, December 12 2007
For the BEER LOVER on your list
WHAT: Sherbrooke Beer ClubWHERE: Sherbrooke Liquor
HOW MUCH: $143.10 for a three-month membership
Turn a beer lover into a connoisseur this Christmas by buying them a beer-club subscription. Sherbrooke Liquor carries almost 500 different brands of beer, but they're going one step further by introducing members to types of brew that aren't yet available in the province. The store makes one-time purchases of highly rated brands from North America, Australia and beyond. Club members usually receive two different six-packs every month, delivered right to their front doors. But beware of giving this gift to someone who doesn't like to stray from their usual pack of Canadian. Membership is recommended for those who sip their beer like a fine wine, and prefer the fuller and more complex flavour of craft beer over a light, bland lager. -Chloe Fedio
For the PIZZA LOVER on your list
WHAT: Pizza StoneWHERE: Safeway
HOW MUCH: $10ish
The quest for perfect homemade pizza is a torturous journey paved with half-burnt, mostly mushy disasters that leave baking sheets encrusted with black goo. There is a better way. A pizza stone is an amazing (and cheap) alternative to the baking sheet. The porous surface of the pizza stone emulates a wood oven, which intensifies any pizza's crust - frozen, reheated or homemade - to epic proportions. The only real downside is that pizza stones can't be cleaned with water or soap as the porous surface will absorb them. Tracking one down is easy enough, as they're available at most Safeway locations, right beside the pizza display, or at kitchen supply stores and department stores. Give the pizza lover on your list the gift of perfect crusts because really, deep down, who isn't a pizza lover? -Tyler Morency
For the CHOCOLATE LOVER on your list:
WHAT: Health by ChocolateWHERE: Various bookstores
HOW MUCH: $24.95
There are generally three types of people who inhabit this particular planet - those who don't like chocolate, those who do like chocolate, and those who love chocolate beyond any known method of measurement. The latter group inevitably faces the same question as any star-crossed lover: "Is this infatuation worth all this trouble?" Well, thanks to new book Health by Chocolate, the answer is an emphatic "yes!" In the book, Edmonton author and holistic nutrition counsellor Victoria Laine isolates the health benefits of chocolate, while leaving out the refined sugar and processed flour. This book is filled with simple and guilt-free - yet delicious - recipes and nutritional advice. It is available at Audreys Books, Earth's General Store and Organic Roots, or online at www.healthbychocolatebook.com. -Jason Halbauer
Chocolate gets a healthy makeover
Nutrition science counters dark chocolate's decadent reputation
Chris Zdeb, Edmonton Journal. Nov 19, 2007 (Copyright Edmonton Journal 2007)SHERWOOD PARK - Chocolate has come to be demonized as the key ingredient in sinful desserts such as devil's food cake.
But for 95 per cent of its 3,000-year history, chocolate was considered a health food. It's actually very good for you and there's a growing body of research to back that up, says holistic nutrition practitioner Victoria Laine.
Laine, who teaches an extension course on healthy food preparation at NAIT, has written a book, Health By Chocolate, which shows how to get the benefits of raw cacao, or raw chocolate and the benefits of whole food ingredients, foods closest to their natural state.
She discovered the benefits of the dark side after depriving herself of chocolate for several years when she was in her 20s and chocolate was thought to be triggering some of her health problems including allergies and food sensitivity.
Studies have found that chocolate contains flavonols, compounds that reduce the stickiness of platelets, cells that play an important role in blood clotting. It contains polyphenols, antioxidants similar to compounds found in fruit, vegetables, red wine and green tea, that help eradicate free radicals in the body thought to lead to heart disease, cancer and premature aging. In fact, it has a higher concentration of antioxidants than spinach, blueberries or green tea.
According to the University of California-Berkeley Wellness Letter, one study of the benefits of exercise found that men who eat chocolate in moderation live longer than those who eat none. Tannins in chocolate help prevent cavities, making chocolate better for teeth than other sweets. Chocolate has mood-elevating chemicals phenethylamine and anandamide which activate receptors in the brain that cause feelings of excitement and well-being.
"It also boosts serotonin levels in the brain. Women typically have lower serotonin levels during PMS and menstruation, which may be why we typically experience craving for chocolate at that time," Laine explains.
And contrary to popular belief chocolate does not cause acne, allergies, migraines, or hyperactivity. It actually has much less caffeine than most people think, Laine says.
But all chocolate is not created equal. For any health benefits, chocolate has to be at least 70-per-cent dark, Laine says. The higher the percentage of dark chocolate, the better.
Chocolate's bad rap comes from the highly-refined sugars and poor-quality fats it's partnered with to make tasty confections such as commercial chocolate bars.
Laine is trying to improve chocolate's street cred by mixing it up with natural healthful sweeteners such as dried fruit -- dates, prunes, apricots and avocados -- that provide vitamins and minerals and fibre, a little maple syrup or honey, whole grain flours, nuts and seeds.
And it still tastes good?
"Oooooooh yes!" she says.
"We can certainly put on pounds with healthful chocolate as well, if we overindulge," Laine cautions. "But the chance of overindulging is less because we feel satiated by the fibre-filled whole foods mixed in with it."
Laine's recipe for Healthy Turtle Bonbons in on page D2. One student, after sampling, said they put her off commercially made turtles forever. They don't taste exactly like Turtles but the chewy, sweet, decadent, crunchy satisfying experience is the same.
Chocoholics, Rejoice!
Chris Zdeb, CanWest News Service, National Post, Thursday, November 22, 2007Chocolate has come to be demonized as the key ingredient in sinful desserts such as devil's food cake. But for 95% of its 3,000 year history, chocolate was considered a health food.
In fact, it is very good for you and there's a growing body of research to back that up, says holistic nutrition practitioner Victoria Laine.
Laine, who teaches an extension course on healthy food preparation at the North-ern Alberta Institute of Technology, has written the book Health By Chocolate, which shows how to get the benefits of raw cacao -- or raw chocolate -- and the benefits of whole food ingredients, which are foods closest to their natural state.
She discovered the benefits of the dark side after depriving herself of chocolate for several years when she was in her twenties, and chocolate was thought to be triggering some of her health problems, including allergies and food sensitivity.
Studies have found that chocolate contains flavonols, compounds that reduce the stickiness of platelets, cells that play an important role in blood clotting. Chocolate also contains polyphenols, antioxidants similar to compounds found in fruit, vegetables, red wine and green tea, that help eradicate free radicals in the body thought to lead to heart disease, cancer and premature ageing. In fact, it has a higher concentration of antioxidants than spinach, blueberries or green tea.
According to the University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter, one study of the benefits of exercise found that men who eat chocolate in moderation live longer than those who eat none. Tannins in chocolate help prevent cavities, making chocolate better for teeth than other sweets.
Chocolate has the mood-elevating chemicals phenethylamine and anandamide, which activate receptors in the brain that cause feelings of excitement and well-being.
"It also boosts serotonin levels in the brain. Women typically have lower serotonin levels during PMS and menstruation, which may be why we typically experience craving for chocolate at that time," Laine explains.
And contrary to popular belief chocolate does not cause acne, allergies, migraines or hyperactivity. It actually has much less caffeine than most people think, Laine says.
But all chocolate is not created equal.
For any health benefits, chocolate has to be at least 70% dark, Laine says. The higher the percentage of dark chocolate, the better. Chocolate's bad rap comes from the highly refined sugars and poor-quality fats with which it's partnered to make tasty confections such as commercial chocolate bars.
Laine is trying to improve chocolate's street cred by mixing it up with natural healthful sweeteners like dried fruit -- dates, prunes, apricots and avocados -- that provide vitamins, minerals and fibre, a little maple syrup or honey, whole grain flours, nuts and seeds. But after adding all of these decidedly non-decadent items, it still tastes good? "Ooh, yes!"
"We can certainly put on pounds with healthful chocolate as well, if we overindulge," Laine cautions. "But the chances of overindulging is less because we feel satiated by the fibre-filled whole foods mixed in with it." - Health by Chocolate is available at www.healthbychocolatebook.com ($24.95).
NOT-SO-SINFUL SWEETS
Mmm, you love Turtles! But those tasty little creatures are packed with sugars and fats. Here's Laine's gooey alternative that offers the same satisfaction.HEALTHY "TURTLE" BONBONS - 12 whole medjool or other large dates - 12 whole pecans or walnuts - 3/4 cup (175 ml) dark chocolate chips
1. Line a tray or flat plate with waxed or parchment paper or plastic wrap.
2.With your fingers, remove pit form each date, and replace it with a nut. Gently squeeze the date closed around the nut. 3. Melt chocolate.
4. Roll each stuffed date in chocolate using a fork or tongs. Place individual treats on the prepared tray so they don't touch, and allow to cool and set on the counter or, if the room is warm, in the fridge. 5.When coating has hardened, serve on a glass or decorative plate or in individual small baking cups or candy holders. For those who love the bitterness of cocoa powder, roll each chocolate coated turtle in cocoa powder before allowing to cool and set. Makes 12.
News Articles on Chocolate
You Can Eat Your Chocolate And Be Eco-Friendly Too
Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alta.: Nov 7, 2007. pg. A.8 (Copyright Edmonton Journal 2007)Reuters LONDON
Chocoholics can assuage any guilt they may feel after a new process was developed that turns the byproducts of making chocolate into a biofuel — meaning you can eat your chocolate and be eco-friendly.
A truck, fuelled by the biofuel, will set out from Poole on the English south coast to Mali in West Africa later this month on a charity mission.
Northwestern English firm Ecotec has taken waste from the chocolate manufacturing process, turned it into bioethanol and mixed it with vegetable oil to produce biodiesel.
Some biofuels have come under fire for either diverting much-needed food crops or leading to massive deforestation as land is cleared to grow crops specially for biofuel production.
“This is to show that you can have environmentally friendly biofuels and that you don’t have to convert normal diesel engines to use it,” said Andy Pag who will be one of the two drivers.
But vehicles using the novel product will not exude the sweet smell of success. “No! I’m afraid the exhaust doesn’t smell of chocolate,” said Pag.
Best To Yield To Chocolate Cravings: Study
Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alta.: Oct 22, 2007. pg. A.7 (Copyright Edmonton Journal 2007)Daily Telegraph
Struggling to resist a chocolatey treat may do women more harm than good, research suggests.
Psychologists have found that suppressing the desire leads to a “rebound” effect in which a woman eats more when she finally gives in.
In a study of 130 volunteers, researchers found women who were asked to suppress thoughts about chocolate ate 50 per cent more when offered it, compared with women who were told to express their feelings about it.
James Erskine, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, said: "The act of avoidance appears to completely backfire."