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Monday, September 30, 2013

Grumpy Monday: CocoaVia Rant and A Dumb Sign

I am not sure what is happening, but surely CocoaVia has read the research that engendered my
post about why chocolate is good for you. To reiterate succinctly--chocolate processed with alkali (Dutch Chocolate or Dutched) does not have the abundance of flavanols as chocolate processed other ways.

Is this just a glitch? Do you think the CocoaVia manufacturers just have not heard about alkali-processed chocolate? NO and NO

Since I don't know the standards, I don't know if 250 mg is high or low.

And, what is with this ingredient list and warning:

Other Ingredients: Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali), Maltodextrin, Natural Flavor, Carrageenan, Salt, Soy Lecithin.
Contains Soy. May contain Peanut. Made in a facility that processes Wheat, Egg, and Dairy. Do not use if pregnant or lactating. Consult a physician prior to use if you have a condition or are taking any medications. Not for use by children.

My Hershey's  box of cocoa ingredient list:

cocoa

That's all.

Chocolate is near and dear to my heart, so I get annoyed when I see ads that seem to deceive.

UPDATE From Sue:

This comment deserves a special place:

Hi, Linda. Having never heard of CocoaVia I found an article about it on the Harvard Medical site. Here's an excerpt from the article.

"Eating plant sterols can lower cholesterol, and flavanols may keep healthy arteries flexible. But you must eat two portions of CocoaVia every day to get the amounts necessary to do this. That means a daily dose of sterols and flavanols comes with an extra 200 calories and 36% of the daily recommended limit for saturated fat. If you don’t cut back 200 calories somewhere else — or walk an extra 45 minutes — that would translate into a 20- pound weight gain over the course of a year. That’s more than enough to counteract any benefits from sterols and flavanols."

Food for thought
.

Now for the sign

Yes
I unplugged it.

I rode in an electric cart, parked it, went to another store, and went back to the first store on the way home. This sign greeted me as I was going to ride in the same cart again. What do you think I did? You are absolutely correct. I did not hesitate as I unplugged it and drove around, looking for what I wanted. Two women at the Customer Service Desk looked annoyed. This hand-lettered sign was put here in the space of 30 minutes.
 
How long should I have stood there waiting for the electric cart to finish charging? How would I have known when it finished charging? By the way, it was their only cart! And, the store is maybe 50,000 sq. ft., maybe more.
 
My point: every cart that is plugged up everywhere is charging. No one ever checks the charge and unplugs them for customers convenience. No, they just stay plugged up if they are ever plugged up at all. That would be fodder for another rant.
 
Your turn
 
 
Maybe I should rename today as Grumpy Monday. Okay, I did it. Do things like these make you shake your head? Have you run into dumb signs lately?


20 comments:

  1. "Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
    Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
    Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?"

    five man electrical band lyrics "signs"

    great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rat,
    Thanks for enlarging my musical knowledge. Funny song, but how true. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. To someone in England your blog is like a foreign language!! We don't have electric shopping trolleys (carts) that charge at shops or chocolate with alkali. Dutched that sounds like someone from the Netherlands! I'm learning so many new things! Very exciting reading new blogs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sssh,
      You do not have shopping scooters that are in each store so people who have difficulty walking can drive around, sitting down, in grocery stores?

      Look at your ingredient list on chocolate. See if it says something about alkali.

      Get back to this blog post and see if it makes more sense. I, too, read blogs from England and it stymies me. lol

      Welcome to my blog! Come back often.

      Delete
  4. I know and love the song that mohave rat posted. It also made me think of little boxes, little boxes. Another very true song. We don't have electric shopping trolleys here either. Manual with wonky wheels is the rule.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. EC,
      I have never heard his song, but I am going to look it up. You don't have carts you can sit in and ride? I could not shop much at all, and I would be in excruciating pain.

      Isn't it a rule that carts have to have a wonky wheel?

      Delete
  5. I bet you have heard the song...great old hippie tune!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I haven't seen any dumb signs lately, but I don't get out much. It's ridiculous to have one motorized cart for a huge store. My medium-sized grocery store has several of them, and I've never seen them plugged in. They must charge them at night. Signs, signs, everywhere are signs. Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind. Do this, don't do that, can't you read the signs?

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. Yes, I think one cart is ridiculous. I tell them that every time that the one cart is in use and I have to just go home.

      Delete
    2. I think that might be considered some sort of discrimination or not obeying laws to assist the disabled.

      Delete
    3. Janie,
      That little sign did seem to be more about keeping the battery charged than helping someone who is disabled. I used it for almost an hour with no problems.

      Delete
  7. The stupid part of it is that the battery life is extended the more it is drained and fully charged. Keeping them plugged in after only short uses will eventually lead to reduced battery life.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You made some good points about the COCOAVIA product. Let us know when you find out if 250mgs is good or bad/high or low. Their chart showed their benefit to be flavalaols without the calories of bar chocolate. I'm sure you noticed that they used the word FLAVORED. I wonder how it tastes. Personally I am NOT a chocoholic. When I do eat chocolate I want one that tastes good and if it is good for you that is the cherry on top!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janet,
      Yes, I did notice the "flavored" part. It makes you wonder about the veracity of the whole product. I find that I will eat a chocolate cookie gleefully. However, any other kind of cookie is just eaten. Lately, I have been avoiding the temptation of any other kind of sweet. I have a jar of chocolate chips not processed with alkali in the food pantry. I will eat a dozen chips each day. It satisfies the chocolate urge. I can resist eating the whole bag. It lasts about a month. I will look into this.

      Delete
  9. Hi, Linda. Having never heard of CocoaVia I found an article about it on the Harvard Medical site. Here's an excerpt from the article.

    "Eating plant sterols can lower cholesterol, and flavanols may keep healthy arteries flexible. But you must eat two portions of CocoaVia every day to get the amounts necessary to do this. That means a daily dose of sterols and flavanols comes with an extra 200 calories and 36% of the daily recommended limit for saturated fat. If you don’t cut back 200 calories somewhere else — or walk an extra 45 minutes — that would translate into a 20- pound weight gain over the course of a year. That’s more than enough to counteract any benefits from sterols and flavanols."

    Food for thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue,
      That is great information. I will put that in the main post. Do you have the citation for that quote? Thanks for the research.

      Delete
  10. On follow up visit to heart surgeon, he was adamant about No Garlic, and No Dutch Processed Chocolate. After two emergency heart surgeries, I am listening to him. Italian food without garlic? all my cooking had garlic, no more, and no more Dutch Processed Chocolate either. Two emergency surgeries is enough. Read labels

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Annie Mouse,
      Thanks for the information. Now, I wonder why. I wonder why since garlic is supposed to be good for our bodies. I don't blame you for leaving off the garlic and Dutch processed chocolate. Do you know why you should not eat garlic of Dutch processed cocoa? I am going to wait for your answer, and repost this post.

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.