Do you know the hidden benefits of cocoa? Or more to the point, that lovely hot chocolate drink sitting in your kitchen cupboard. Did you know it may have an extra added benefit other than just being a pleasant drink often enjoyed on cold, wintery days or just before bedtime to help you sleep?
But what???? I hear you ask.
Well, surprisingly, I have just discovered that cocoa powder, as in the stuff used for drinking chocolate or hot cocoa drinks, can be “Dutched” or “unDutched,” which is another way of saying: “Ultra-Processed” or “Natural-processed,” as us ordinary, non-food industry people would say!
So what!!
That’s what I thought at first, but I decided to take a deeper look at what this means and discovered most of the cocoa sold in the UK is Dutched, as in Ultra-Processed. That made me wonder, what then is natural-processed or ‘unDutched,’ and why is everything, even the ones marketed as Organic Hot Drinking chocolate, actually not as naturally produced because it’s still Dutched? Surely it isn’t a big deal, but then, why is the UK one of the few places that doesn’t really sell ‘unDutched’ drinking chocolate?
My curiosity got the better of me and I am glad it did…
Looking into this further, I discovered that when the cocoa powder is described as ‘Dutch,’ it means that during the manufacturing process, the chocolate-makers wash the cocoa powder with a potassium carbonate solution. The solution neutralizes the powder’s acidity to a pH of 7, which gives it its rich dark brown color. This process also gives it a deeper, more earthy bittersweet flavor than the unDutch or natural, unsweetened cocoa powder.
So while we are all enjoying the darker, sweeter-tasting Dutch cocoa, it is not as healthy as you think. When compared to natural cocoa powder, the Dutch process has removed half the phytonutrients, which are the hidden benefits that fight wrinkles and plump out the skin.
What I found interesting about natural cocoa is that, according to Michael Greger, MD, in his book How Not to Age, natural cocoa helps decrease markers of oxidative stress and helps lower blood pressure. Most interesting of all to us ladies, natural cocoa is good for anti-aging and reducing wrinkles. By drinking 2 1/2 teaspoons of natural cocoa each day for 12 weeks, there is an increase in skin density and hydration. After 24 weeks, there was a significant improvement in skin elasticity and a decrease in wrinkle depth.
Natural cocoa also can improve muscle mass and grip strength by taking 1 tablespoon a day. It also helps to open arteries and is anti-inflammatory.
As a chocolate drink, natural cocoa is best, and the best cocoa powder for a hot chocolate drink is Ghirardelli’s 100%. Hershey and Nestle also offer natural cocoa, but Hershey also makes a special “Dark” cocoa that has been Dutched, so keep an eye open.
In general, while the natural cocoa offers a milder color and a lighter flavor, some oldies, like me, call it “the old-fashioned chocolate flavor.” And now that I know it has the hidden benefit of helping me reduce my wrinkles, I’m off to find unDutched hot drinking chocolate and stock up my kitchen cupboard. What a fun new way to add to my anti-wrinkle regime!
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Granny Pink is passionate about helping others improve their quality of life.