I Can't Live Without My Nestle Chocolatier!

If they ever start an organization like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) for chocoholics, I would be honored to be its first president. I would name it the CC, for Chocoholics Confidential. The first meeting would start with my highly personal admission to the group: I am addicted to chocolate. I AM a chocoholic. There! I've said it!

The substance of choice for my recreational use is Nestle's Chocolatier squares. I realize I have a problem, and try to maintain a low, daily intake of two squares. This amounts to one ounce of pure, confectionery bliss. It soothes my troubled soul after I slowly savor its bittersweet blend. It also soothes me when I'm not troubled. It comes in morsels or bar form, and my preference is the 8-ounce bar that contains 62% cacao. The higher percentage of cacao, the more antioxidants there are.

It's a rare day that I don't indulge in my favorite chocolate, and my wife insures that an adequate supply is always available. I don't think I will ever progress (regress?) to the point when I can claim "I am a recovering chocoholic". That would only happen under my family physician's orders if my health would be adversely affected by further ingestion of dark chocolate.

Speaking of health, chocolate has been found to have proven health benefits. In fact, the darker the chocolate, the healthier it is. You may have heard or read about its presence of powerful antioxidants. They can:

- help maintain healthy blood pressure
- help maintain blood cholesterol levels within a normal range
- help people with diabetes by affecting the insulin function, which regulates blood sugar

Now, I'm not advocating that you eat an entire bar of this type of chocolate each day. On the contrary, it would load you up with too many calories and saturated fats. But my little two squares, which completely satisfy my chocolate craving, only contain 140 calories and 6 grams of saturated fat. There are also only 10 grams of sugar.

Antioxidants are all the rage lately, so people who are on a quest to eat healthy foods and beverages seek out those that have high concentrations. When compared to other healthy foods, here's how the Nestle Chocolatier stacks up:

- Nestle Chocolatier with 62% cacao (1 oz) = 286 mg of antioxidants
- Green Tea (8 fl oz) = 190 mg of antioxidants
- Blueberries (1/2 cup) = 225 mg of antioxidants
- Blackberries (1/2 cup) = 182 mg of antioxidants

Don't be fooled by the fact that this type of chocolate is normally used in premium baked products, where the higher percentage of cacao results in a richer chocolate flavor experience. That's all well and good for a final product -- chocoholics derive their gratification from the physical breaking off of a square from the hefty, gold foil-lined bar, and slowly chewing the dark treasure until nirvana is achieved. Okay, that might be a bit much, but it comes pretty close to my experience.

For a healthy alternative to other candy bars and traditional fat bombs, try a piece of Nestle's bittersweet dark chocolate. You won't be sorry.

To your health!