Cocoa and chocolate contain a number of minerals. Cocoa has the potential to provide significant amount of minerals in the human diet, in particular copper, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium and zinc.
Potassium, magnesium and calcium are the most abundant minerals in cocoa powder. The mineral content of the cocoa is dependent on the soil condition in which the cacao is grown.
Cocoa and cocoa products contain relatively higher amounts of magnesium compared to black tea, red wine, and apples. Magnesium is involved in catalyzing multitude biological reactions, including protein synthesis, transmission of nerve impulse, muscle relaxation, energy production and bone and teeth adsorption.
The final concentrations of minerals in chocolate products are dependent on the amount of non-fat cocoa solids, the amount of cocoa butter and the presence of other ingredients including milk and nuts which can enhance the levels of certain minerals.
A 100 g bar of plain chocolate is able to supply 24% of the copper needed in a healthy diet, whilst milk and white chocolate are a relatively good source of calcium, which is widely regarded as being beneficial in maintaining strong bones.
Dark chocolate typically has higher amounts of minerals than milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is plentiful in magnesium, important for brain functioning. It also boast other nutrients, such as copper, iron, manganese and zinc.
Minerals in chocolate
The word chocolate is derived from the Aztecs names for the tree, and for the drink they prepared from the beans. These words live on in Mexican today as ‘choclatl’ for the drink and ‘cacauatl’ for the tree. Chocolate was first cultivated as a crop, by ancient Mesoamerican peoples. They used cacao beans to create a frothy chocolate drink flavored with spices.
The most popular articles
-
Modern History of Chocolate Milk The cocoa tree is an unusual tree, with its cultivation confined to limited areas and climatic conditions. ...
-
The standard method for evaluating the quality of cocoa beans is a cut test on which the interior of a certain number of beans that have bee...
-
Once they have been dried, cocoa beans are quite stable and will not deteriorate for several years, provided they are kept under good condit...
-
Composition of Cocoa Beans The general composition of cocoa beans from various sources is similar. With properly fermented mature beans t...
-
Milk Cocoa Beverages Dairy based products with additions of coca or chocolate are the most widely known and accepted milk drinks. Cocoa o...

Other interesting articles
-
-
A food hazard is defined as anything that could contaminate food and cause illness or injury, or could otherwise violate established food safety program cr...
-
Black pepper (*Piper nigrum*) and long pepper (*Piper longum*) are the best known species in this family and are probably among the most recognized spices ...
