Solid Chocolate v. Cocoa
#177319 - 05/07/05 04:10 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ok, I'm back on my quest for the understanding of the "whys."
So...why is chocolate a trigger?
If it were the caffine, wouldn't cocoa powder also be a trigger?
Understandably, most chocolar bars, candies, etc. have milk products, so that makes sense. I'm not about to go out and eat a Snickers or anything, have no fear!
But, what about cocoa butter as an ingredient? It's just from the cocoa bean also right, not really "butter"? Is it safe as an ingredient in a dessert mix, for instance? I understand that it is considered vegan. It is probably high in fat, but if it were just an ingredient, or if the dessert were consumed in a very small quantity after a very low fat meal, could that be a safe way to have a chocolate fix? (Assuming it had no milk, eggs, HFCS, etc...)
Also, I found a brand of chocolate that makes solid dark chocolate bars that are purely 75% cocoa powder, then sugar, then a bit of soy lethicin to hold it together. That's obvioiusly "solid chocolate", but I can't see why it wouldn't be just a safe as ADB or other home-baked cocoa-based chocolate desserts.
Is the "solid chocolate" warning just so that we don't all go out and eat Hershey's by the truckload? Could there actually be safe solid chocolates? (Maybe the dairy-free Kosher chocolates?) Or is there something else that is a trigger with chocolate that I am missing?
Thanks so much...
--------------------
~~~Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.~~~
Edited by AlyssaKaye (05/07/05 04:12 PM)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Unsweetened cocoa powder has the fat removed from it. Plus, the caffeine is tied to the fat, so it makes cocoa very safe, compared to solid chocolate.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I do know that cocoa butter is the fat that is left over from the manufacturing process of the cocoa bean and is then added back in. So it is extracted to make cocoa powder -- and then they add it back in to make whatever it is your talking about. That's why we prefer to use cocoa powder and control the amount and type of fat we use.
Generally - I think (my opinion) chocolate products are high in fat and tend to contain milk products. Some do have caffeine -- but it isn't in high amounts - at least not enough to be dangerous unless you are eating so much that the calories themselves would be dangerous.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
First of all I think you are slightly misunderstanding "solid chocolate". If it is cocoa with oil to thicken it is not whole chocolate anymore. yes the problem is in the cocoa butter and not so much in the caffeine. Cocoa butter is a major trigger and should be avoided.
That said, I was quite astonished after giving up chocolate in all but cocoa form to find several people here eat small amounts of dairy free solid chocolate. For some putting in the real fakey chocolate chips made from cocoa and oil is ok in baked goods. For me any chocolate with chocolate liquour -even Sam's choice chips- is a trigger. Sorry but that is the breaks. You can't complain your stomach into agreeing to happily digest things it doesn't want to. Be happy we can have so many good things with cocoa- and yummy chocolate soy ice cream and sorbet!
--------------------
IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I may be wrong about this, but I *believe* that solid choclate is simply a GI irritant where cocoa powder is not. By GI irritant that would be the same way say, fat or caffeine or diary are GI irritants.
It's not necessarily that it *contains* an irritant, so much as it is one itself. That's the way I always that understood it...
At any rate, I've found cocoa and carob powder to be a safe way to get a 'choclate fix' now and then. Luna bars also uses cocoa powder mixed with soy milk to make its seemingly solid choclate coatings - and those are safe for most folks on these boards.
But solid choclate definitely kills me. I had actually cut out chocolate completely before coming accross Heather's diet, after which I played around with cocoa powder a little and found it to be ok.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
--------------------
Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Posts
