CHOCOLATE: FRIEND OR FOE?

Chocolate is one of the world’s favourite flavours, which give us the most intensive ambivalent feelings among its proponents.
One of the few foods which truly crosses all frontiers and appeals to people all over the world is chocolate. Originally developed in South America by the Aztecs, chocolate was brought to Europe by he Spanish explorers around 1500 and soon developed into a fashionable and exclusive drink. By the nineteenth century the Swiss has invented milk chocolate and learned how to make the substance into a solid form which could be eaten rather than drunk. Chocolate bars rapidly became a popular snack for European and Americans.
Chocolate derives from the beans of the theobroma cacao or cocoa tree, a sensitive plant; the cocoa tree can only grow in equatorial regions with regular rainfall and consistent temperatures. South America, West Africa and parts of the Far East are the only regions able to support the cocoa tree. The beans are removed from large pods which grow directly on the tree trunk or branches, left to ferment for several days and then dried in the sun. The dried beans are exported to processing plants where the hard shells are taken off and the soft cocoa paste, known as cocoa mass is used as the basic ingredient for all chocolate recipes.
The word “chocolate” is derived from “Xochiquetzal”, the name of the Aztecs goddess of love, and for centuries chocolate had has a reputation as an aphrodisiac. It was the favourite drink of Casanova, and it has always been one of the most popular presents between lovers on Valentine’s Day. In fact chocolate contains the chemical phenylethylamine (PEA), a mood altering substance which can induce a feeling of pleasure and contentment.
Perhaps the most common complaint against chocolate is that is fattening and unhealthy. It is true that chocolate has a high fat and carbohydrate content, but recent research has shown that around 75% of the saturated fat in chocolate is made up of stearic acid, a substance that helps the body to digest and break down carbohydrates, and much of the fat content in chocolate is in a form which can’t be absorbed by the body and it’s therefore expelled in the usual way.
When compare chocolate with other sweet snacks, chocolate is frequently scores well, it contains good levels of calcium, phosphorous, potassium, vitamin A, iron and sodium; all highly desirable and nutritional. Its chemical composition makes it stimulating and energy-giving, and its fat content is no higher then ice-cream or french fries. Of course chocolate will make you fat if is eaten in excess.
With chocolate, as with life in general, the best advice comes from the old proverb: “a little of what you like does you good”.