DDSquare.com Tech,Gadgets,Science,Design,Concept, Games and Babes

I’m sure that many of us enjoy having a nice chocolate bar but how many of us actually know why? Why is it so tempting and why it makes us crave for more piece after piece?

Well, well, here’s the answers for you and although there might be people who already know about these facts, I’m sure that there are some who don’t.

Where did Chocolate Originate from?

Chocolate originated in the Amazon Basin, where the Aztecs prized the cocoa bean and used it to make a bitter, herby drink called Xocaltl. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in South America, they were intrigued by these beans and this drink that the Aztecs regarded so highly.

However, the European palate did not take to the Aztecs’ drink, and gradually a recipe was devised to make chocolate appealing to the Spanish, by adding aguave sugar. The Spanish brought the beans and the recipe back to Spain, and from there news of chocolate spread across Europe and chocolate-makers began the long – and ongoing – task of experimenting and perfecting the art of chocolate.

What are the ingredients involved?

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree, a South American plant that was cultivated in many parts of the Americas. Other ingredients included cocoa butter, theobromine, caffeine, and a red plant color (cacao-red). Theobromine is a chemical related to caffeine.

After that bit of history above, let’s move on to what’s the science behind chocolates that made us feel better after consuming one.

Here’s why:

Chocolate has a number of drug-like effects. It has caffeine, although less than coffee, another mild stimulate and diuretic called theobromine, another substance that is a building block of the neurotransmitter that produces pleasure, and more. It has substances that are beneficial for heart health, that sustain a pleasure response in the brain, and mood-altering compounds that put one in the mood for love.

The downside:

Well, because it contains quite a substantial amount of sugar, there’s bound to be calories and when there are calories, there are fats. Thus, having too much could made you a little out of shape and it could even incur bad tooth due to too much sweetness.

The theory is put to test

To test the theory that chocolate enhances mood, a study was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. Students who felt the urge to eat chocolate were given either:

1. milk chocolate,
2. white chocolate (which contains no cocoa, just cocoa butter and flavoring); or
3. pills containing stimulants found in chocolate.

The findings were predictable …. The pill didn’t do the trick, but both the white and milk chocolates did satisfy the students.

Do You Know?

Dark chocolates that is high in cocoa solids is regarded as the finest tasting, healthiest and most refined chocolate in the world. They contain less sugar than the milk chocolates and although they are more bitter, many still love them because of this unique bitterness.

So, now I hope you’ll understand why do you have that bit of special feeling after popping that piece of chocolate. If you’re feeling a little down right now, why don’t you head on down to that convenience store and get a bar of Hershey to try to improve your mood?

Source : The Current Online, iVillage, Danucci, Edp