Chemists removed cocoa butter and milk fats (yes, the part of the chocolate that makes it taste so good) from milk, dark and white chocolate and substituted it with droplets of orange and cranberry juice.
"Everyone loves chocolate -- but unfortunately we all know that many chocolate bars are high in fat," Dr. Stefan Bon, the study's lead author, said in a press release. "We've found a way to maintain all of those things that make chocolate 'chocolatey' but with fruit juice instead of fat."
And don't worry, this particular piece of chocolate will still melt in your mouth. Using a technique called the Pickering emulsion, scientists were able to keep a chocolate bar's Polymorph V content -- the part of chocolate's fat that gives it a glossy look and the ability to bend, snap and melt in our mouths.
LOOK: Fruit juice infused chocolate with 50 per cent less fat:
A 2011 Swedish study found that women who ate more than 45 grams of chocolate a week had a 20 percent lower risk of stroke than women who treated themselves to fewer than 9 grams of the sweet stuff.
Because it's rich in fiber, dark chocolate can actually help keep you full, so you'll eat less, Dr. David Katz, founding director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center and HuffPost blogger told The Huffington Post. Regular chocolate eaters might do themselves a favor by treating themselves to a bite instead of snacking on "11 other things first" he said.Dark chocolate does the trick much better than milk, according to a small study from the University of Copenhagen, and may even reduce cravings for sweet, salty and fatty foods.
Forget what you've heard about chocolate causing breakouts: Dark chocolate is actually good for your skin. The type of antioxidants called flavonoids found in dark chocolate offer some protection from UV damage from the sun. And no, that does not mean you can skip the sunscreen!
It Can Quiet Coughs
Andrew Harding via Jupiter Images
Can't stop coughing? An ingredient in chocolate called theobromine seems to reduce activity of the vagus nerve, the part of the brain that triggers hard-to-shake coughs.In late 2010, the BBC reported that scientists were investigating creating a drug containing theobromine to preplace cough syrups containing codeine, which can have risky side effects.
Advertisement
It Boosts Your Mood
Shutterstock
There's no denying that indulging your sweet tooth every once in a while feels great. Enjoying food is part of enjoying life, points out HuffPost Healthy Living's wellness editor, Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald.Chocolate eaters also report feeling less stressed.
Because of chocolate's ability to improve blood flow, in particular to the brain, researchers at the University of Reading hypothesized in a small 2011 study that chocolate may also increase blood flow to the retina, thereby giving vision a boost.
Advertisement
It May Make You Smarter
Getty Images
That boost of blood flow to the brain created by cocoa's flavanols seems to make people feel more awake and alert, and, in a small British study, perform better on counting tasks.
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.
If you have questions or concerns,
please check our FAQ or
contact support@huffpost.com.
