The NetGP - Missing Point - Monthly Web-Zine

Chocolate
Why We Crave It!

The favored drink of Mayan and Aztec aristocrats was "chocolatl"--an energizing,
aphrodisiacal drink made with cocoa bean kernels, spices, chilies, water, and corn
meal. In 1519, the Aztec emperor Montezuma, who drank dozens of cups daily,
served chocolatl to Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez. But chocolatl
was too bitter for Mexico's new masters, who hit upon the idea of a sugar
cane-sweetened cocoa beverage.

Christopher Columbus brought a few beans back to Spain, where the secret of
cocoa was kept for nearly 100 years. Once it was smuggled out, cocoa soon
became the chic new drink of Europe's upper crust. Solid chocolate--a mixture
of cocoa solids, sugar, and cocoa fat--was developed circa 1730. A smoother,
sweeter eating chocolate was perfected by 1847, with milk chocolate following
in 1876.

Surveys show that chocolate is the top food craving in North America--especially
among women--and cravings often accompany menstruation and melancholy.
Researchers identify several possible reasons. First, chocolate is high in fat and
sugar, which stimulate release of morphine-like brain chemicals called endorphins.
And several cocoa compounds--anandamines, caffeine, theobromine, magnesium,
and phenylethylamine--are confirmed mood enhancers. But some experts say that
the levels of mood enhancers in chocolate are too low to make people "high," and
one clinical study detected no difference in mood effects between white and dark
chocolate, even though white chocolate is free of cocoa's mood-lifting chemicals.

However, the presence of fat and sugar in chocolate could be an explanation
for the uniquely strong cravings that it inspires. Women may be more sensitive
to chocolate's mood elevators during monthly hormonal upheavals and mildly
depressed people may be more sensitive to these compounds, making chocolate
an especially effective edible balm for their blues. Whatever the reasons, millions
regard chocolate as a major dietary deity, so it's fitting that cocoa trees belong
to the botanical family Theobroma--Greek for "food of the gods."

No need to deny yourself with these sin-free scrumptious desserts!