Accra, Feb. 14, GNA - Professor Fredrick Addai, Head of the Anatomy Department, University of Ghana Medical School on Saturday said regular intake of pure cocoa or chocolate was a must for healthy living. "Daily intake of cocoa is necessary to realise its optimum benefits for growth and development of the body as well as disease prevention," he added.

Professor Addai said this at the end of a three-day lecture on cocoa and its benefits organized by Centuries International Organisation, an NGO which is promoting cocoa consuption in Ghana. He said drinking pure cocoa powder drink at least three times daily could reduced the rate of diabetes and hypertension, "I advice that persons with these kind of diseases would stick to pure cocoa". Professor Addai however, noted that it was not really good for people with very low blood pressure or gastroesophageal reflux disease but could reduce the risks of getting stroke and aneurysm. On chocolate, he urged the youth to eat the dark bar chocolate regularly in addition to drinking pure cocoa adding, "benefits require lifetime commitment to cocoa consumption".

He said research had shown that pure natural cocoa has incomparable promotive, preventive, and curative health benefits, "most valuable nutrients are stored in the cocoa bean." Mr Ekow Otoo, Commercial Manager, Cocoa Research Institute, Tafo said it was working and researching into various aspect of the pod to churn out more products.

"We now have the cocoa fertilizer, soaps, wine, pomade, salts and others from the pod which is even a by-product", he added. Mr Stephen Dzilah, President of the Ghana Chefs Association called for improved technologies in cocoa production that would promote cocoa and chocolate in the country, adding "as chefs, we assure the public of nutritional menu from the product".