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6/22/06

The Food of the Gods

After writing two weeks ago about how awful sugar is, I cut it from my diet. Since chocolate was an item I consumed on a daily basis, I figure if I’m not eating it, at least I can write about it and thus enjoy it vicariously.

The word comes from Spanish, xocolatl, meaning “bitter water”. Chocolate residue found in an ancient Maya pot suggests that Mayans were drinking chocolate 2,600 years ago. Aztecs used cacao beans to prepare a hot, frothy beverage with stimulant and restorative properties, often spicing it with chili pepper. Believing it imparted wisdom and vitality, chocolate was reserved for warriors, nobility and priests. Fermented as a drink, chocolate was used in religious ceremonies associated with the goddess of fertility.

The bitter compound in chocolate is called theobromine, “food of the gods”, which certainly seems appropriate here.

Xocolatl was said to be an acquired taste. A 16th century missionary’s account stated that it was “loathsome to such as are not acquainted with it, having a scum or froth that is very unpleasant to taste. Yet it is a drink much esteemed among the Indians, where with they feast noble men who pass through their country.”

Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and cacao beans were often used as currency. The first recorded shipment of chocolate to Europe was in 1585. Europeans added sugar and milk to the beverage to counteract the natural bitterness, and replaced the chili pepper with vanilla. By the 17th century it was a luxury item among the European nobility.

Recent studies suggest that cocoa and dark chocolate may provide certain beneficial effects for human health, including cardioprotective properties. Some studies have observed a reduction in blood pressure after consuming approximately 3 ounces of dark chocolate daily. Consuming milk chocolate or white chocolate, or drinking milk with dark chocolate, appears to negate the health benefit. And don’t forget that chocolate is calorie-rich, so daily intake calls for increased exercise.

Chocolate is one of the foods highest in magnesium. Magnesium helps with calcium absorption, for strong bones and healthy heart; it also helps reduce stress and muscular tension. Chocolate cravings (especially for pre-menstrual women) may actually signify magnesium deficiency, which is best corrected with green vegetables, whole grains, and beans.

Chocolate contains modest quantities of caffeine. It also contains tryptophan, an amino acid connected to the production of serotonin, which helps diminish anxiety. Chocolate consumption triggers the release of endorphins, hormones that bind to opiate receptors in the brain and reduce pain sensations.

Chocolate contains small quantities of the chemical anandamide (which is also produced naturally in the brain). The name comes from the Sanskrit word for bliss, as it induces a feeling of well-being.

Theobromine is toxic to horses, dogs, parrots, and cats because they are unable to metabolize the chemical effectively. For these animals, chocolate may cause epileptic seizures, heart attacks, internal bleeding, and death. Treatment involves inducing vomiting within two hours of ingestion, or contacting a veterinarian. Dark chocolate has 2 to 5 times more theobromine than milk chocolate and thus is more dangerous for dogs. As dogs like the taste of chocolate as much as humans do, it should be kept out of their reach.

For us humans, though, it cannot be entirely coincidental that the compounds in chocolate have names connected to “bliss” and “god”. If anything, it suggests to me that chocolate is a supreme food, designed by the Powers That Be with our happiness in mind. When chocolate is a regular part of my life, just thinking about it produces a measure of euphoria!

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