Chocolate actually contains chitin, a cockroach protein. Of course, no one specifically adds it there. The fact is that in cocoa beans, from which chocolate is made, colonies of tropical cockroaches very often settle. When the cocoa beans are harvested, some of the crop gets insects. Even according to international standards, when a qualitative analysis is made of cocoa beans that are used for the production of sweets, the value of chocolate is also determined depending on the amount of chitin it contains. The lower the percentage, the higher the level and elite of the sweet bar. Sometimes the content of cockroaches reaches 5%. That is, if you ate 100 grams of chocolate, consider that you ate 5 grams of cockroaches.
It cannot be said that this is a secret behind seven locks. On the contrary, a lot has been written about it. Doctors, of course, also know. But, of course, no manufacturer will indicate in the composition of the product, along with cocoa mass and vanilla, such an unusual ingredient as chitin! In any case, do not be afraid and completely abandon your favorite sweets. It is normal for some products to contain impurities. It’s just better to choose elite varieties of chocolate whenever possible (from 65 to 75%).
Elite dark chocolate is more expensive, but its quality is much higher. Cocoa beans are carefully cleaned and the percentage of chitin in the product is minimal.” The US Department of Health brochure “Food Defects Action Levels” for chocolate lists the limits for natural contaminants in chocolate in the form of “insects, rodents and other natural contaminants” that are acceptable by the FDA. The FDA allows insect remains or rodent hair in the chocolate mass. A simple plate of chocolate weighs about 20 grams. Each such tablet can contain one hair and wool of a rodent and 16 pieces of insects.
The rate of contamination of chocolate powder cannot exceed 75 insect remains per three teaspoons of powder. Many patients who think they are allergic to chocolate are actually allergic to the animal fragments found in chocolate. 4% of cocoa beans can be infected with insects. Content of animal waste — e.g. rat waste visible to the naked eye – allowed if it does not exceed 20 milligrams per kilogram of product! Those interested in further information on this topic can check with the FDA Guidelines and Compliance Branch, Bureau of Foods [HFF-312]200 C.St.SW,Washington,DC 20204 ). So these are not fairy tales, but sometimes I still eat a piece, although it turns out that this is an impure product. Like this 🙂
And it’s also interesting to know, but don’t insects crawl over the grains that are stored? You can’t save yourself from everything. Cocoa Powder Contamination Cocoa powder made from poor quality cocoa beans can be contaminated with insect fragments, mycotoxins (due to mold development) and pesticide residues. There are examples when, with an increase in the price of cocoa powder, starch, carob powder, cocoa shell particles, and even iron oxide were found in it. This risk is associated mainly with the purchase of cocoa powder from unverified suppliers. Until today, I could not live without chocolate, but while eating another bar of the most delicious milk chocolate, I was told a story about cocoa beans …
In short, the essence is that these cocoa beans are ground together with COCKROACHES and BEETLE, the size of which can only be seen in the most nightmare, it is not possible to separate animals from beans (due to the huge number of these creatures, they seem to live right in these beans). THIS powder is exported to various countries and then real Russian chocolate, delicious Alpine chocolate, is made from it. Swiss etc. From one thought. that I eat MADAGASCAR ROCKCOAT IN CHOCOLATE horrifies me.
One thing pleases, it is not harmful and not dangerous. These cockroaches in many countries (Africa, Asia) are considered a delicacy or a dietary norm … The truth about chocolate This will not be written on the labels, but: 1. It is a drug 2. It contains tropical cockroaches Chocolate contains theobromine, which is a strong toxin for many animals . So for cats and dogs, the average lethal dose is 200 … 300 mg / kg of theobromine. Horses and parrots are also sensitive to this substance.
Human poisoning with theobromine when eating chocolate is practically excluded due to the rapid metabolism of theobromine in the human body. Also, theobromine, being the main alkaloid in chocolate, gave it the second name “food of the gods” (theo bromine). Cocoa beans are brought from tropical countries in bags TOGETHER WITH TROPICAL COCKROACHES. Beans and cockroaches are ground together to make cocoa mass! Cocoa beans are in the pulp of the fruit of a cocoa tree, 30-50 pieces each, have an almond-shaped shape, about 2,5 cm long. The bean consists of a solid core formed by two cotyledons, an embryo (sprout) and a hard shell (cocoa shell). Cocoa beans of freshly picked fruits do not have the taste and aroma properties characteristic of chocolate and cocoa powder, they have a bitter-tart taste and a pale color. To improve the taste and aroma, they are subjected to fermentation and drying on plantations.
The main components of the dry matter of cocoa beans are fats, alkaloids – theobromine, caffeine (in small quantities), proteins, carbohydrates, tannins and minerals, organic acids, aromatic compounds, etc. Harvesting and processing Fruits growing directly from a tree trunk are cut with a machete experienced assemblers. Harvesting should be done without damaging the bark of the tree to avoid infections. The collected fruits are cut with a machete into several parts and laid out on banana leaves or stacked in barrels. The white, sugar-containing flesh of the fruit begins to ferment and reaches a temperature of 50º C. Seed germination is inhibited by alcohol released during fermentation, while the beans lose some of their bitterness.
During this 10 days fermentation, the beans get their typical aroma, taste and color. (pure blue) Drying is traditionally done in the sun, in some areas due to climatic conditions, in kilns. Drying in traditional drying ovens, however, can render the resulting beans unsuitable for chocolate production due to smoke flavor. This problem was solved only with the advent of modern heat exchangers. After drying, the beans lose about 50% of their original size and are then bagged and sent to chocolate-producing countries in Europe and North America. A by-product of chocolate production, cocoa butter, is widely used in perfumery for the preparation of cosmetic ointments and in pharmacology. Thus, cocoa and derivative products are very doubtful products in terms of their freshness and infestation with insects and rodents, especially if we take into account the activity of the biosphere of hot countries! POISON – WITH WHOLE CUPS
I saw his advertisement in Greenland, at the foot of a glacier. I saw it advertised on the shores of South America, where the waters of Cape Horn crash against the rocky shore. It is used by nomads in the Sinai desert and by residents of remote villages in Tibet and China. Russia consumes it in millions of liters annually. You can see it advertised on billboards all over North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Walking through the streets of a European city, you can’t hide from its aroma. What is this thing that is advertised all over the world?
Advertised poison, caffeine found in coffee, tea and many cola drinks. Many people drink caffeinated drinks because they think they refresh them, give them energy and confidence to work. The most popular drink containing caffeine is coffee. In the West, almost every person over the age of 12 drinks coffee. More than a billion kilograms of coffee are consumed annually in the United States alone. Worldwide, the total is approaching 5 billion. Five billion kilograms… of poison! What’s more, of the 25 billion liters of popular soda water consumed in the United States annually, 65 percent contains caffeine. These caffeinated beverages are the main source of caffeine intake for teenagers. And it all started so innocently…
Around 850 AD, the story goes, an Arab shepherd named Kaldi noticed the strange behavior of his goats. He noticed that goats, usually calm animals, literally lose their temper. They jump and jump like crazy. The culprit, as it turned out, was the berries of some shrub. Kaldi tasted these berries himself. So for the first time in history, a person experienced the effect of coffee – an unusual uplift and a feeling of cheerfulness. He told his fellow shepherds about this, and they, in turn, told the villagers. By the XNUMXth century, coffee consumption had spread to all Arab countries and Europe. Coffee lovers could not at that time know what substances in coffee beans cause an uplift and give vigor. If they did a chemical analysis of a coffee bean, they would find various chemicals in it. The most important of these is caffeine, which has a stimulating effect on the body, especially on the nervous system. Caffeine is a drug that belongs to the xanthine family. Although theophylline (found in tea) and theobromine (found in chocolate) are also xanthines, they differ significantly from caffeine in their structure and biological functions. Chemically, these drugs are very similar, but they have completely different physiological effects on the body. However, most nutritional chemists agree that coffee, tea, and chocolate contain significant amounts of caffeine.
HOW CAFFEINE WORKS Mohammed forbade the consumption of intoxicants in the Qur’an. Later, the Muslim authorities applied this ban to coffee as well. We don’t know why they did it, because at that time they didn’t have any scientific evidence to back them up with. In the XNUMXth century, Pope Clement VIII took the opposite position. He declared coffee to be “a truly Christian drink.” At present, the unique aroma and stimulating effect of coffee and tea have earned them fame all over the world. Most people find the aroma of coffee pleasant and appetizing. But caffeine not only stimulates, but also destroys. It has certain physical and mental effects that are harmful to health. At first glance, it seems that caffeine improves mood, relieves fatigue, reduces headaches, irritability and nervousness. But these effects are mostly illusory. Caffeine does not solve the problem of fatigue.
“Wait a minute! you may object. – Last night, when I was driving a car, I almost fell asleep at the wheel. I went to a cafe and had a couple of cups of coffee. What effect! After that, I was able to drive home and watch the nightly TV program!” Sorry my friend! Coffee did not take away your fatigue at all. The body remained tired even after coffee, only you did not know about it. Reactions and reflexes were temporarily sharpened, but soon dropped to a lower level than they were when you first felt tired. If you were to encounter unforeseen danger along the way, caffeine could prevent you from returning home alive. By creating a false sense of alertness, caffeine can lead to accidents. Let’s take a closer look at the effects of caffeine. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system. First of all, it mobilizes stress mechanisms by increasing blood sugar, heart rate, cardiac output and blood pressure. It causes the kidneys to produce more urine, makes breathing faster. What makes all this happen? Thanks to the narcotic effect.
Caffeine provides us with no calories, no nutrition, no vitamins. Its action is reminiscent of whipping a driven horse. The horse may move faster when in pain, but it does not actually decrease in fatigue. We force the horse to expend energy from reserves. And it is not easy to recover these reserves. Some can’t be replenished at all. Caffeine creates the illusion that he is an “actor”. A good actor makes his character seem real. Caffeine creates the illusion of well-being and health. But as in the play, the curtain always closes. And if we continue to live with the illusion of energy and cheerfulness, one day we will find that the curtain on our health has closed. Constant fatigue, exhaustion of the nervous system and various organs, the “driven horse” syndrome – this is the price we pay for the illusions created by caffeine. I remember the director of a school located not far from the hospital where I worked. He seemed to be full of energy, but not because of his natural health. He had high blood pressure, kidney disease and insomnia, which he hid. Garvey, that was the headmaster’s name, drank 20 cups of black coffee daily. I told him about the consequences of this lifestyle, but I never convinced him not to drink coffee. He did not smoke and rarely drank alcohol. He used to say to me: “Coffee keeps me on my feet, doctor.” Then he added: “Without coffee, I would be like a squeezed lemon, and I could not do anything.” In the end, I convinced Harvey that he needed to quit coffee or he would beat himself to death. He followed my advice for a few days, but the withdrawal was so severe that he soon returned to his 20 cups a day. At the time, Garvey was in her early 40s. He died of a heart attack before reaching the age of 50. I regretfully signed the certificate of his death: “Ischemic heart disease, acute myocardial infarction.” One could safely add the cause of death: “Coffee”.
COFFEE WEB
A fascinating study was conducted by Dr. Mervyn G. Hardinge at the Public Health Institute at Loma Linda University. Dr. Hardinge studied two varieties of spiders, using a large number of individuals. He discovered that one of the varieties of spiders weaves a beautiful symmetrical web of large sizes. He used it for his experiments. Very skillfully, he measured out infinitely small doses of caffeine, which he injected with the thinnest needle into the body of a spider. Each spider received a dose equivalent in effect to two cups of coffee for an adult. Then the webs woven by these spiders were studied. All of them were completely deformed. They were small, contained few rays, and had an ugly shape. Before the dose of caffeine was administered, the web had 30 to 35 concentric rings. The web, woven even 48 hours after the administration of a single dose of caffeine, was still deformed and contained only 12-13 rings. The same picture was noted after 72 hours. Only 96 hours after the injection, the size and shape of the web returned to normal. Drugs are not a cure for fatigue. The cure is a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition and rest. THE DANGER OF CAFFEINE So, caffeine deceives the nervous system. But that’s not all. It increases the content of fatty acids in the blood. An increase in fatty acids, plus stress, plus an increase in blood pressure are all prerequisites for myocardial infarction. Medicine is only now beginning to recognize the reality of this danger. Statistics show that people who drink a lot of tea and coffee are more susceptible to all diseases, not just a heart attack. In my medical practice, I have observed numerous cases of heart rhythm disturbances due to the use of drinks containing caffeine. Often these disturbances disappeared as soon as the patient stopped drinking coffee. Caffeine causes the stomach to produce more acid, which can cause heartburn. Consuming large amounts of coffee can lead to stomach ulcers. I recently met with a colleague at the Mayo Clinic who told me that he refuses to treat any stomach ulcer patient who does not agree to stop drinking tea and coffee. By increasing the production of catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine), caffeine creates a stress effect in the body. This is one of the contributing factors to the high blood pressure often found in coffee drinkers. High blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for a heart attack. The effect of stress created by caffeine partially paralyzes the activity of the intestines. The processes of digestion and absorption slow down. Food stays longer in the intestines and passes through the digestive tract for a longer time. This leads to increased gas production and indigestion, which increases the possibility of colon cancer (see Chapter 13). Caffeine is a terrible enemy!
CAFFEINISM
One of the most serious consequences of caffeine consumption is the development of a condition known in psychiatry as anxiety neurosis. For lack of a better name, we call this condition caffeinism. Caffeinism is characterized by dizziness, anxiety and restlessness, recurrent headaches, and insomnia. Paleness of the face, tremors of the hands, sweating of the hands and feet are also symptoms of caffeinism. The psychiatrists at the Walter Reed Hospital studied this type of neurosis. They found that treating him as a mental illness was ineffective. But in all cases, the cure came quickly after the elimination of caffeine from the diet. Caffeinism is one of the most common diseases that doctors have to deal with today. Most often it is misdiagnosed. In my practice, I have seen one or two instances of caffeinism daily. The Garvey mentioned earlier belonged to those who refused treatment. Often patients think that they need tranquilizers or sedatives. Some even ask for psychotherapy. My treatment is brutally frank. It is not enough to cut down on caffeinated beverages. I tell patients that they should cut out caffeine completely. Coffee and all caffeinated drinks are harmful to the last drop. Many people think that it is impossible to completely give up coffee, tea, or Coca-Cola. But once you experience the joy of feeling healthy and feeling free from the constant whipping, you’ll wonder why you didn’t get it over with sooner. When you learn other components of a healthy lifestyle – diet, exercise, fresh air, water, you will understand that you do not need any drugs, any stimulants that supposedly help maintain good health. You will feel great. And it’s not an illusion. This is a genuine, wonderful, full of life reality! What can you do? 1. Avoid the caffeine trickster by stopping coffee, tea, cola juice drinks, and other caffeinated drinks. 2. To make withdrawal easier, drink as much fresh water as possible, limit your normal work load, but increase your daily “dose” of exercise. You may find some of the soothing water treatments described in Chapter 9 helpful. 3. If you. If you like hot drinks, try drinking herbal teas or cereal coffee substitutes. 4. Go to bed earlier and get a good night’s sleep. 5. Start living for real, without caffeine “whistling”. What is caffeine and how it affects a person In medicine, caffeine is known as trimethylxanthine. Its chemical formula is C8H10N4O2. In its pure form, caffeine is in the form of a white crystalline powder with a very bitter taste. In medicine, caffeine is used as a heart stimulant and diuretic. It is also used to cause an “explosion of energy” or increased activity. Very often, people consume caffeine in order to stay more alert and not fall asleep. There are even those who feel out of sorts all day long if they don’t have a cup of coffee in the morning. Caffeine is an addictive drug. It affects the brain through the same mechanism as amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin. Of course, the effect of caffeine is much more moderate than, say, cocaine, but it acts on the same channels, and therefore, if a person feels that he cannot live without coffee in the morning and must drink it every day, then he has a drug addiction. to caffeine. Caffeine in Food Caffeine is naturally found in many plants, including coffee beans, tea leaves, and cocoa beans. All foods from these plants contain caffeine. On top of that, it is artificially added to many other products. Here is a short list of sources of caffeine for the average person. • One cup of coffee contains 90 to 200 milligrams of caffeine. • In one cup of tea – from 30 to 70 milligrams. • In various colas (Pepsi, Coca and RC) 30 to 45 milligrams per glass. Thus, more than half of people consume 1000 milligrams of caffeine every day without even knowing it. Caffeine and Adenosine So how does caffeine work, why does it keep us awake? Our brain releases a substance called adenosine, when adenosine binds to its receptors, it causes drowsiness by inhibiting the activity of nerve cells. It also causes the blood vessels in the brain to dilate (for enhanced oxygenation of the brain during sleep). To the nerve cell, caffeine looks exactly like adenosine. So caffeine can bind to the receptor that is meant for adenosine. But it does not slow down cell activity. It turns out that caffeine has taken the place of adenosine, and now adenosine cannot join the cell. So the work of the nerve cell does not slow down, but, on the contrary, accelerates. Caffeine also causes blood vessels to constrict because it prevents adenosine from dilating them. Therefore, some headache medicines contain caffeine, they reduce blood pressure in the brain. So, thanks to caffeine, we increase the nervous activity in the brain. The pituitary gland (pituitary gland) sees that something is going on intensely in the brain, decides that since such activity means this is an emergency and secretes a hormone that causes the adrenal glands to generate adrenaline. Adrenaline is the same “Let’s fight or we’ll be killed” hormone that brings the body into a state of full combat readiness. You can recognize that there is an increased content of adrenaline in the body by the following signs: • Pupil dilation – to see better. • Rapid breathing – to get more oxygen • Increased heart rate – to transfer this oxygen faster to the muscles. • Blood to organs such as the skin, stomach and intestines (which will not participate in the supposed battle for survival) begins to flow slowly, the main blood flow goes to the muscle mass. • The liver begins to throw a huge amount of sugar into the blood for increased muscle work. • And finally, the muscles themselves are tense and ready for battle. This explains why after a big cup of coffee our hands get cold and we feel energized. Caffeine and Happiness Hormones Caffeine also increases the production of dopamine (also known as the happiness hormone). Of course, he does not do this in such quantities as, for example, amphetamine, but this is the same mechanism. Side Effects As you can see from the explanation, our body may like caffeine in small doses, especially when it needs to stay active, as it blocks adenosine to stay active, increases adrenaline production to increase energy, and manages dopamine levels in order to we felt good. Problems with caffeine begin when it is used for a long time. Then the person enters the spiral. For example, when all the adrenaline has run out, we feel tired and empty. So what are we doing? That’s right, we also drink a cup of coffee to again increase the level of adrenaline in the blood. But you yourself understand that being on “alert” all the time is not particularly good, and besides, it makes us twitchy and irritable. But the biggest problem with caffeine is sleep. Adenosine is very important for sleep, and especially for deep sleep. It takes about 6 hours for the body to get rid of caffeine. This means that if at 3 pm a person drank a cup of coffee, then at 9 pm this coffee still affects the nervous system. A person can fall asleep, but this dream will be superficial. A lack of deep sleep takes its toll very quickly. The next day we’ll be walking around like drunken flies and staggering from side to side. So what will this person do? Naturally, he will drink a cup of aromatic coffee as soon as he gets out of bed. And this cycle will repeat itself day after day. Decaffeinated coffee It’s important to note that decaffeinated coffee lovers don’t exist. A study by the University of Florida (University of Florida, USA) showed that caffeine is still present in decaffeinated coffee, and in fairly large quantities. This information was published by the Journal of Analytical Toxicology. An analysis of 10 decaffeinated coffees sold in the United States found that 10 cups of instant coffee labeled “decaffeinated” contained as much caffeine as two cups of regular coffee. An average serving of instant “decaffeinated coffee” contains between 8,6 and 13,9 milligrams of caffeine. A serving of “decaffeinated ground coffee” is 12-13,4 milligrams. At the same time, a cup of regular instant coffee contains 85 milligrams of caffeine, while a glass of Coca-Cola has 31 milligrams. Under US and Western European standards, decaffeinated coffee should contain no more than 3 milligrams of caffeine per serving. Even small doses of caffeine affect the heart rate, blood pressure and the human psyche. It is considered normal to consume 300 milligrams of caffeine per day. Caffeine Facts The average American consumes 210 mg of caffeine daily. This is equivalent to 2-3 cups of coffee, depending on its strength. The way coffee is prepared is directly related to the amount of caffeine produced. A cup of instant coffee contains 65 mg of caffeine; a cup of coffee brewed in a strainer coffee maker contains 80 mg; and a cup of drip coffee contains 155 mg. The four most common sources of caffeine in America are coffee, soft drinks, tea, chocolate, in that order. The average American gets 75% of their caffeine from coffee. Other sources include over-the-counter pain relievers; appetite suppressants; cold medicines; and some prescription drugs. What happens to the caffeine that is extracted from coffee during the production of decaffeinated coffee? Most are sold to carbonated soft drink companies (cola already contains natural caffeine, but more is added). Are you getting more caffeine than your kids? If you evaluate based on body weight, then most likely not. Children often get as much caffeine from chocolate and drinks as their parents get from coffee, tea, and other sources. Coffee – another drug of the XNUMXth century Coffee – another drug of the XNUMXth century There is no doubt that caffeine is a powerful drug. Yes, that’s right, drugs. Chances are, you’re not just enjoying your daily coffee or Coke, you’re addicted to them. Caffeine acts directly on the central nervous system. It induces an almost instantaneous feeling of clarity of thought and reduces fatigue. It also stimulates the release of sugar stored in the liver, and this explains the high sensation caused by coffee, cola and chocolate (the big caffeine trio). However, the side effects can be much greater than these pleasant sensations. The release of sugar from reserves leads to a heavy load on the endocrine system. Inveterate coffee drinkers often experience nervousness or they become “twitchy”. Coffee-drinking housewives, when they switched to de-caffeinated beverages, exhibited all of the characteristics of quitting drug addicts. Dr. John Minton, an Ohio State University professor of surgery and cancer oncologist, has found that excessive consumption of methylxanthines (active chemicals found in coffee) can cause benign breast growths or prostate problems. Many doctors believe caffeine is responsible for hypertension and other diseases of the cardiovascular system. Dr Philip Cole has reported in the UK medical journal The Lancet of a strong association between coffee consumption and incidence of bladder and lower urinary tract cancer. According to data published in the British Medical Journal, people who drink 5 cups of coffee daily have a 50% higher risk of heart attacks than those who do not drink coffee. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported a disease called caffeinism with symptoms of loss of appetite and body weight, irritability, insomnia, feeling cold flushes, and sometimes a mild fever. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have shown that caffeine can interfere with DNA reproduction. The American Center for Science in the Public Interest advises pregnant women to refrain from consuming caffeine, as a daily dose of caffeine found in 4 cups of coffee has been shown to cause birth defects in experimental animals. Large doses of caffeine in the experiments caused convulsions in animals, and then death. Caffeine can be very toxic (a dose of about 10 g is considered lethal). Recent studies have shown that 1 liter of coffee drunk within 3 hours can destroy a significant part of thiamine (vitamin B1) in the body. The table below shows the amount of caffeine (in mg) that is contained in some drinks | Type of drink and its amount | Quantity | | | caffeine (in mg) | | Pepsi-Cola, 330 ml | 43,1 mg | | Coca-Cola, 330 ml | 64,7 mg | | Coffee (1 serving): | | | Soluble | 66,0 mg | | With strainer | 110,0 mg | | Received by passing drops | 146,0 mg | | | boiling water through ground coffee | | | | Tea bags | | | Black 5-minute brew | 46,0 mg | | Black 1-minute brew | 28,0 mg | | Loose tea | | | Black 5-minute brew | 40,0 mg | | Green 5-minute brew | 35,0 mg | | Cocoa | 13,0 mg | Are there alternatives to caffeine? Decaffeinated coffee is not the best solution to caffeinism. It turned out that trichlorethylene, which was first used to remove caffeine, significantly increases the incidence of cancer in experimental animals. Manufacturers have switched to safer methylene chloride, but it still contains the chlorine-carbon bond characteristic of many toxic insecticides. Regular consumption of tea is also not a way out, since it also contains a lot of caffeine. However, herbal teas can be quite invigorating, and many natural food stores have a wide selection of them. In addition, you can get the same lift as caffeine, but without the side effects, from ginseng, especially Siberian ginseng. In pharmacies, ginseng tincture, aralia, eleutherococcus extract are widely represented at fairly reasonable prices. Cola, both diet and regular, has become as popular as coffee for those accustomed to enjoying caffeine support. Try replacing the cola with soda or mineral water or juices.