ELC 231 READING (PRACTICE I)

Chocolate: Facts and Effects

I According to the World Cocoa Foundation (2014), people around the world,
predominantly in Europe and the United States, consume more than three
million tons of cocoa beans a year. Cornell University (2007) reported that
chocolate is a substance prepared from the fruit of the Theobroma cacao, a
tropical tree which means "food of the gods" in Greek. Theobroma cacao trees
are native to the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in South America. As the
popularity of chocolate spreads, growers established plantations in other
regions, such as West Africa and Southeast Asia. Today, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire,
Nigeria, Indonesia and Brazil account for 79 percent of the world's cacao
production. It is a long process to produce chocolate and there are benefits as
well as effects of its vast productions.

II Fermentation produces the chocolate flavour and aroma. It also destroys the
seed's embryo, preventing unwanted germination, and causes the white pulp to
fall away from the seed. After fermentation, the beans are dried out on sunny
platforms. Workers turn them several times a day for three to five days to
complete the drying process. The beans can dry faster in rotary dryers but sun-
dried beans taste the best. Next, the beans are taken to the chocolate factory,
where they are cleaned. The beans are roasted in large, rotating ovens. The
roasting draws out flavour and removes the beans from their hulls. The roasted
beans are then placed into the winnowing machine to crack the beans and
remove the hulls. The remaining part of the bean is called the nib which then
becomes chocolate. According to Pam Williams, cofounder of the Fine
Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA), this process results in a thick paste
called chocolate liquor which is the main source of unsweetened baking
chocolate. At this stage, fine chocolate is separated from that of average quality.
“Fine chocolate,” as designated by the FCIA, contains only cacao liquor, cacao
butter, sugar, lecithin, vanilla and possibly milk fats and solids. Additional
flavours or ingredients like nuts can be added later.

III Several recent studies have examined the role chocolate may have on heart
health. Cacao beans are full of phytonutrients, which act as antioxidants and
provide several benefits. Dark chocolate contains two to three times more
beneficial flavanols than milk chocolate. This is because for milk chocolate, the
concentration of cacao is diluted with milk and possibly more sugar. While
most studies have found some correlation between chocolate consumption and
reduced risk of heart problems, the amount and type of chocolate needed
requires further studies. A meta-analysis of the effects of chocolate on coronary
heart disease, stroke and diabetes concluded that most benefits were associated
with moderate chocolate intake (Nutrients/Sheng Yuan, Xia Li, Yalei Jin &
Jinping Lu, 2017). It was discovered that people who consumed chocolate more
than three times a week only gain little benefit in heart disease or stroke
reduction. Protective effects against diabetes emerged at two servings a week,
but that benefit disappeared if people had more than six servings a week.

IV Chocolate can also be good for the brain. Some studies have focused on the
benefit of chocolate in improving cognitive function. A study by Moreira,
Afonso et al. (2016) in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that chocolate
consumption might lower the risk of cognitive decline in older people. The
study looked at nearly 400 Portuguese citizens over age 65 and saw that those
who ate a moderate amount of chocolate — on average, one chocolate snack a
week — decreased their risk of cognitive decline by 40 percent over two years.
Chocolate is often associated with positive effects on mood. The substances
found in chocolate such as anandamides can stimulate the brain similar to
cannabis. It also contains substances that have similar effects as amphetamine,
such as tyramine and phenylethylamine. However, these substances are very
low in concentration, too low to even induce an antidepressant effect.

V Inevitably, chocolate production can also harm the environment. Farmers

often clear forests to make room for cacao plantations. According to the World
Wildlife Fund, about 70 percent of Côte d'Ivoire's illegal deforestation is related
to cacao farming. One danger of deforestation is soil erosion, which can make
land less fertile for cacao plants. This creates a vicious cycle of cocoa farming
and environmental degradation. As a result, farmers and scientists need to work
together to develop effective strategies to maintain chocolate production
without endangering the environment. Therefore, some farmers plant taller trees
next to cacao trees to increase shade and decrease moisture loss for their cacao
plantations (NOAA, 2016). Furthermore, cacao plantations have also moved to
higher elevations with cooler temperatures and greater rainfall. In conclusion,
the vast production of chocolate is a long and complicated process which has its
effect on the environment. However, chocolate has never failed to bring
happiness to someone’s life. “Nice memories are like chocolate: you can’t
survive on them alone, as they aren’t very filling, but they make life sweeter.” -
Janine Weger.

Read the passage on “Chocolate: Facts and Effects”.

Answer all questions

a) Give an overview of the article?

b) What is the purpose of this article?
c) What is the author’s tone?
d) In your own words explain the meaning of the following sentence :
chocolate has never failed to bring happiness to someone’s life.
e) In your opinion, do you think that chocolate production does more good
than harm? Explain your answer

Drebibelc231uitmks2022
ELC 231 READING (PRACTICE II)

Is Coffee Good for You?

By Dawn MacKeen

I For years, coffee was believed to be a possible carcinogen, but the

2015 Dietary Guidelines helped to change perception. For the first time,
moderate coffee drinking was included as part of a healthy diet. When
researchers controlled for lifestyle factors, like how many heavy coffee drinkers
also smoked, the data tipped in coffee’s favour. A large 2017 review on coffee
consumption and human health in the British Medical Journal also found that
most of the time, coffee was associated with a benefit, rather than a harm. In
examining more than 200 reviews of previous studies, the authors observed that
moderate coffee drinkers had less cardiovascular disease, and premature death
from all causes, including heart attacks and stroke, than those skipping the
beverage.

II In addition, experts say some of the strongest protective effects may be with
Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and liver conditions such as cirrhosis,
liver cancer and chronic liver disease. For example, having about five cups of
coffee a day, instead of none, is correlated with a 30 percent decreased risk of
Type 2 diabetes, according to a meta-analysis of 30 studies. The potential
benefit from coffee might be from the polyphenols, which are plant compounds
that have antioxidant properties, according to Dr. Giuseppe Grosso, an assistant
professor in human nutrition at University of Catania in Italy and the lead
author of an umbrella review in the Annual Review of Nutrition.

III However, coffee isn’t for everyone. There are concerns about
overconsumption. This is especially true for expecting mothers because the
safety of caffeine during pregnancy is unclear. While the research into coffee’s
impact on health is ongoing, most of the work in this field is observational. “We
don’t know for sure if coffee is the cause of the health benefits,” said Jonathan
Fallowfield, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, and co-author of the
British Medical Journal review. “These findings could be due to other factors or
behaviors present in coffee drinkers.” Yes. Do you prefer a dark or light roast?
Coarse grinding or fine? Arabica or robusta? “All of these different aspects
affect the taste, but also affect the compounds within the coffees,” said Neal
Freedman, a senior investigator with the National Cancer Institute. “But it’s not
clear at all how these different levels of compounds may be related to health.”
Roasting, for example, reduces the amount of chlorogenic acids, but other
antioxidant compounds are formed. Espresso has the highest concentration of
many compounds because it has less water than drip coffee.

IV A study in JAMA Internal Medicine examined the coffee habits of nearly

500,000 people in the U.K. and found that it didn’t matter if they drank one cup
or chain-drank eight — regular or decaf — or whether they were fast
metabolizers of coffee or slow. They were linked to a lower risk of death from
all causes, except with instant coffee, the evidence was weaker. The way you
prepare your cup of joe may influence your cholesterol levels, too. “The one
coffee we know not suitable to be drinking is the boiled coffee,” said Marilyn C.
Cornelis, an assistant professor in preventive medicine at the Northwestern
University Feinberg School of Medicine and co-author of the JAMA Internal
Medicine study.

V However, the oil in boiled coffee has cafestol and kahweol, compounds called
diterpenes. They are shown to raise LDL, the bad cholesterol, and slightly lower
HDL, what’s known as the good kind. “If you filter the coffee, then it’s no issue
at all,” said Rob van Dam, a professor at Saw Swee Hock School of Public
Health at National University of Singapore. “For people with cholesterol issues,
it’s better to switch to other types of coffee.” He’s been studying coffee for two
decades. (And, yes, he’s had a lot of coffee in that time.) However, other
researchers say not to throw out the boiled coffee just yet. The clinical
significance of such small increases in cholesterol may be questionable, given
that it’s not associated with an increase in cardiovascular deaths. Many
consumers have also swapped loose grounds for coffee pods. While there are
environmental concerns with single use pods, researchers believe them to hold
the same benefits as, say, drip coffee. The latter applies to cold brew, too, but
more research is needed.
Read the passage on “Is Coffee Good for You”.

Answer all questions

a) Give an overview of the article?

b) What is the purpose of this article?
c) What is the author’s tone?
d) In your own words explain the meaning of the following sentence :
coffee isn’t for everyone. There are concerns about overconsumption
d) In your opinion, do you think that coffee consumption has its positive
effects on human health ? Explain your answer

Drebibelc231uitmks2022