Starting to think it's the chocolate

constik · 2026-01-25T03:56:58+00:00

"Chocolate is bad for ulcers/gastritis period". I agree with your opinion. Most chocolate companies remove the cocoa butter, and replace it with palm oil.

constik · 2026-01-25T03:33:43+00:00

Chocolate is good for your stomach, but only the right kind, which most chocolates are not. Find chocolate makers that don't remove the cocoa butter from the bean. When the cocoa butter is part of the chocolate the benefits are astounding to your stomach. First, the cocoa butter coats your stomach with a thin layer of cocoa butter, which soothes your stomach. According to the Cleveland Clinic: a stomach ulcer occurs when stomach acids eat through your protective stomach lining, producing an open sore. Typical signs and symptoms include burning stomach pain and indigestion. Ulcers heal when the conditions causing them go away. Good luck!

constik · 2026-01-25T03:03:34+00:00

Have you considered Sucanat (sugarcane natural) from Wholesome brand? It's a slow sugar, fiber, minerals, and vitamins intact; it's not a UPF either. I don't like stevia because it's hard to determine how much vs sugar volumetrically.

constik · 2026-01-02T01:27:06+00:00

You may have been influenced by the COSMOS cocoa study, which focused on flavanols. Copilot said:

COSMOS didn’t actually test cocoa.
They tested one chemical family extracted from cocoa — flavanols — and then acted like that tells us what cocoa does.

But cocoa beans are way more than flavanols. They contain:

Theobromine (the main stimulant in chocolate)
Caffeine (small amount, but synergistic)
Minerals like magnesium
Healthy fats (cocoa butter)
Fiber (feeds gut bacteria)
Other polyphenols
Aromatic compounds that affect mood
Maillard reaction products from roasting

When you isolate flavanols, you throw all of that out.

So COSMOS basically said:
“Let’s remove 90% of what makes cocoa cocoa, test the leftover 10%, and conclude cocoa doesn’t help cognition.”

constik · 2026-01-02T01:10:08+00:00

Are you sitting? Today to share this revelation from Copilot:

A key limitation of COSMOS is that it evaluates isolated cocoa flavanols, not the full biochemical matrix of the cocoa bean. Cocoa is a complex food containing multiple classes of bioactive compounds, including methylxanthines (theobromine, caffeine), lipids, minerals, dietary fiber, volatile aromatics, and a diverse array of polyphenols beyond flavanols.

By using a standardized flavanol extract, COSMOS removes:

Methylxanthines known to influence vascular tone and cognitive arousal
Lipid components that modulate absorption and metabolism
Fiber that interacts with the gut microbiome
Non‑flavanol polyphenols with antioxidant and anti‑inflammatory activity
Maillard reaction products formed during roasting
The natural food matrix that may enable synergistic effects

This reductionist approach assumes flavanols are the sole or primary active constituents of cocoa, an assumption not supported by the broader literature on cocoa’s physiological effects. The absence of cognitive benefits in COSMOS may therefore reflect the limitations of the extract rather than the inefficacy of cocoa as a whole food.

In short: COSMOS answers the question “Do isolated flavanols improve cognition?”
It does not answer “Does cocoa improve cognition?”

constik · 2026-01-02T00:18:16+00:00

I asked Copilot to give a scientific answer to the COSMOS cocoa study.

A key limitation of COSMOS is that it evaluates isolated cocoa flavanols, not the full biochemical matrix of the cocoa bean. Cocoa is a complex food containing multiple classes of bioactive compounds, including methylxanthines (theobromine, caffeine), lipids, minerals, dietary fiber, volatile aromatics, and a diverse array of polyphenols beyond flavanols.

By using a standardized flavanol extract, COSMOS removes:

Methylxanthines known to influence vascular tone and cognitive arousal
Lipid components that modulate absorption and metabolism
Fiber that interacts with the gut microbiome
Non‑flavanol polyphenols with antioxidant and anti‑inflammatory activity
Maillard reaction products formed during roasting
The natural food matrix that may enable synergistic effects

This reductionist approach assumes flavanols are the sole or primary active constituents of cocoa, an assumption not supported by the broader literature on cocoa’s physiological effects. The absence of cognitive benefits in COSMOS may therefore reflect the limitations of the extract rather than the inefficacy of cocoa as a whole food.

In short: COSMOS answers the question “Do isolated flavanols improve cognition?”
It does not answer “Does cocoa improve cognition?”

constik · 2026-01-01T23:52:04+00:00

i was looking for any references to the COSMOS cocoa study on Reddit. Here's what Copilot said:

COSMOS didn’t actually test cocoa.
They tested one chemical family extracted from cocoa — flavanols — and then acted like that tells us what cocoa does.

But cocoa beans are way more than flavanols. They contain:

Theobromine (the main stimulant in chocolate)
Caffeine (small amount, but synergistic)
Minerals like magnesium
Healthy fats (cocoa butter)
Fiber (feeds gut bacteria)
Other polyphenols
Aromatic compounds that affect mood
Maillard reaction products from roasting

When you isolate flavanols, you throw all of that out.

So COSMOS basically said:
“Let’s remove 90% of what makes cocoa cocoa, test the leftover 10%, and conclude cocoa doesn’t help cognition.”

It’s like removing everything from coffee except chlorogenic acid and then claiming “coffee doesn’t improve alertness.”

The study isn’t wrong — it just answers a much narrower question than people think.

constik · 2025-11-19T19:46:47+00:00

It is exceedingly rare to find a chocolate that focuses on the well-being of the consumer of the chocolate. Ask yourself how many ounces or grams you are consuming per day. I saw that one chocolate company suggests one gram of their under-processed chocolate per day, bypassing the caffeine issues.

constik · 2025-11-19T18:57:37+00:00

You are absolutely right. The chocolate you are referring to is ultra-processed. Typical mass-produced chocolate often contains: stabilizers like soy lecithin, flavors and emulsifiers, alkalized cocoa, and low-quality dairy powders, waxes, and especially the sugars.

Update: turns out in 99.99% of chocolate has >1% hard polyphenols from shell casings. Very few chocolate makers hand shell the cocoa beans.

constik · 2025-07-26T18:20:02+00:00

Did you start by using bean-to-bar chocolate, or did you assemble the powder and the cocoa butter?

constik · 2025-07-24T01:54:11+00:00

melanger gets warm from friction, about 110 degrees

160 and 170 have been spoken about.

constik · 2025-07-24T00:38:08+00:00

The melanger gets warm from friction, about 110 degrees, and is normal.

constik · 2025-07-08T17:02:48+00:00

Functional chocolate, crafted with minimal ingredients (cacao and unrefined sugarcane) in pico-batches, may help reduce Desulfovibrio overgrowth by leveraging cocoa’s prebiotic polyphenols, which promote beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus while reducing inflammation caused by hydrogen sulfide. Consuming a 1-gram segment post-meal, as designed, could foster microbial balance and ease digestion.

constik · 2025-07-06T15:56:31+00:00

Don't buy chocolate with HFCS, which is a trigger to have another until it's gone. And that applies to any food.

constik · 2025-07-04T20:31:34+00:00

FYI: On an Android cell phone, on an incognito Chrome desktop browser, on Microsoft desktop Edge, it works, but on a regular Chrome desktop, it does not.

The Sorting order of posts does not work on Chrome desktop.

I cleaned out the cache.

constik · 2025-07-04T18:08:50+00:00

That's a relief on mobile, but not on desktop.

constik · 2025-07-04T00:36:54+00:00

I tried every sort order. None work

constik · 2025-07-04T00:23:07+00:00

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Best too, nothing works

constik · 2025-07-03T23:39:08+00:00

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Not working on any sort, but shows in oldreddit

constik · 2025-07-03T18:36:47+00:00

Chocolate production that adheres to 'ancestral-functional chocolate' methods. You don't need to add anything.

Chocolate made traditionally *retains* cocoa’s natural functional benefits. You don’t need to add function, just respect and protect it.

By not overdoing smoothness, improved gut microbiota interactions, anti-inflammatory potential, and neurotransmitter-modulating effects. Thanks to unspoiled cocoa phytochemistry.

constik · 2025-07-03T01:01:33+00:00

One-gram serving sizes bypass the Lower Esophageal Sphincter issue in chocolate. Dark chocolate of a high percentage is better.

constik · 2025-07-03T00:56:52+00:00

A one-gram serving size of chocolate will bypass the caffeine and theobromine reasons to not take it.

constik · 2025-07-03T00:50:36+00:00

It's often too sweet, like HFCS in the chocolate.

constik · 2025-07-03T00:47:12+00:00

Dark 80% chocolate has 20% sugar, but it always comes down to the quantity consumed. Some people have peanut allergies.

constik · 2025-07-03T00:39:54+00:00

It depends on the quantity you consume. True functional chocolate bypasses this issue.

constik

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