.Chocolate: The Good & The Bad
Source of Recipe
Katherine Dyson
The Good:
It imparts a feeling of well-being, possibly because it contains caffeine and theobromine, a weak stimulant.
Contains serotonin, which helps with depression.
Helps keep you awake.
It contains phenolics which may help lower the risk of heart disease by preventing fat-like substances in the bloodstream from oxidizing and clogging the arteries.
It does not cause acne.
The cocoa butter in the chocolate coats the teeth and may help to prevent plaque.
It contains phenylethylamine, which is related to amphetamines, strong stimulants that make us more alert.
And what about chocolate as an aphrodisiac? Certainly that fact that it helps keep you awake, makes you feel better and increases your appetite has to be useful in romantic situations.
The Bad:
It contains saturated fat, which can increase blood cholesterol levels and high cholesterol, which can contribute to heart disease.
Keeps you awake.
The presence of theobromine helps stimulate the appetite.
So you see, the good way outweighs the bad. So go for it.
Long live chocolate: You can eat it, even take a bath in it
"I'm not so sure Feb. 14 is the best timing in the world for those just getting on track with shedding the extra pounds gained over the holidays. But there it is, Valentine's Day when giving chocolates to those we love has been going on ever since 1849 when English chocolate maker Joseph Storrs Fry produced what was arguably the world's first chocolate candy.
Chocolate has been called an antidepressant, tonifier, stimulant, euphoriant, and an aphrodisiac. There are desserts with thick chocolate curls, chocolate pianos, and chocolate greeting cards. You can drink, eat, even take a bath in it and rub it into your skin.
The Absolute Spas, a Vancouver-based chain, feature several chocolate treatments and lotions including a Chocolate Cognac Hydrotherapy Bubble Bath ($40 for 45 minutes). You get a chocolate-cognac nutty scrub, a dip in a chocolate bath and a massage with chocolate cognac oil; their 8-oz. bottle of Chocolate Whipped Cream Body Lotion is priced at $10. (877-684-2775)
Strange that something so decadently euphoric originates from an ugly yellow-green fruit about the size of your hand. Growing on the cocoa tree in Central and South America, the Caribbean and other tropical places, the source of all this goodness originates from the dark purple-colored chocolate beans, which are embedded in the fruit's white pulp.
Even as early as 500 A.D., the ancient Maya of southern Mexico and Central America appreciated the virtues of chocolate and consumed it in beverage form: The word "cacao" is Mayan. The Aztecs in the 16th Century brewed a drink called "tchocoatl," made of cocoa nibs, that was prized for its aphrodisiac properties and an officer serving with Cortez observed Motecuhzoma, the ruler of the Aztecs, daily drinking 50 flagons of a chocolate drink made of ground cacao beans mixed with other ingredients. Cortez would later write to King Carlos I of Spain that "xocoatl" is a "drink that builds up resistance and fights fatigue."
And guess what? Christopher Columbus is credited with more than the mere discovery of America. On Aug. 15, 1502, on his fourth and last voyage to the Americas, Columbus stumbled on a large dugout canoe off the coast of what is now Honduras. In the canoe along with other goods, was a stash of cacao beans, which the good explorer quickly commandeered, thus becoming the first European of record to come in contact with cacao.
Soon chocolate would make its way across the Atlantic: In 1585 it was shipped from Veracruz to Seville. By the 17th Century, drinking chocolate was extremely popular among European nobility and in England and chocolate drinks were served in the new coffee and chocolate houses of London. It wasn't until 1828 that chocolate candy became a reality when Dutch chocolate maker Conrad J. Van Houten patented an inexpensive method for pressing the fat from roasted cacao beans. He then was able to create a powder that would more easily mix with water and could be remixed with cocoa butter to make a solid. Other experimenters took it from there and by mid-century, Mr. Fry had created chocolate candy."
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