Brown (or chocolate in the Big Indonesian Dictionary), which many preferred food. Imagine when chewed or sipped a glass of hot chocolate or enjoy a chocolate tart with a layer would make a lot of people do not wait to do it. Not just as a snack for a child, but chocolate also many adults enjoyed. In fact, chocolate is often used as gifts for someone dear. Why chocolate is considered as a sign of love with someone? Any substance contained in chocolate so that this food has a lot of audience? Is chocolate is harmful to health food?
History of Chocolate
Botanical experts agree that chocolate or cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) is grown in the Amazon region and South America Orinoko valley since thousands of years ago. Mayans who first cultivate cacao trees. This custom was also brought when they moved to the plains Yukatan. Then introduced the Aztec nation of bitter chocolate as a beverage. Cocoa beans mixed with corn or grapes that have been fermented and then presented in a gold cup. Aztec emperors named Montezuma has a habit of drinking chocolate for more than 50 cups of cocoa per day.
The Spanish colonizers named Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) when colonizing the area during the gold cup was originally interested in the contents of beverage than chocolate. But he also observed that for the Aztec Nation, cocoa or chocolate is also used as seed money. Therefore, he soon established several plantation chocolate. Plantation known as "brown gold" was developed and the results favored, so that Spain controlled the trade of cocoa in the 18th century. Then the chocolate was introduced to mainland Europe and made a cake mix ingredients.
In the mid 19th century, the Swiss started to develop and market chocolate as a snack. So that the chocolate that was only as a beverage and then developed into a snack that can be melted on the tongue. Switzerland also became famous as the best chocolate producing countries.
Then a smart entrepreneurs like Hershey, Kohler, Lindt, Nestlé, Peter, Suchard and Tobler them into brand-name now-famous chocolate makes a great contribution to chocolate industry. They found the engine more efficient processing of cocoa and chocolate processing methods to find better.
Chocolate Passion for Sex and Love Symbols
The reason why many people give chocolate to someone dear is because chocolate is often regarded as the food of love. This is because chocolate has a texture that is soft and will melt slowly in your mouth when dikulum. This gives the impression of sensual for those who eat them. Moreover, chocolate can give the effect comfortable, relaxed and can enhance sexual arousal.
Generated a sense of comfort after enjoying chocolate not just a feeling, because chocolate contains a substance that enables hundreds of chemical reactions in the brain. These substances stimulate the active serotonin in the brain which in turn will trigger a feeling of comfort someone. In addition, most substances contained in chocolate is theobromine that can stimulate nerve tissue and the heart that makes us awake and excited. This effect can also be obtained from the caffeine in coffee or tea. Another benefit of theobromine was able to suppress the cough.
Also contains phenylethylamine which helps the absorption of dopamine in the brain and produce that will lead to feelings of joy, increase the sense of interest and can lead to feelings of love. That's another reason why chocolate is often given as gifts a sign of love.
Chocolate for Health Benefits
With a cocoa content of chocolate (cocoa beans) are more than 70% also have health benefits, because chocolate is rich in antioxidant content of phenols and flavonoids. With the presence of antioxidants, will be able to capture free radicals in the body. The amount of this antioxidant content even 3 times more than green tea, beverages that have been often regarded as a source of antioxidants.
With the presence of antioxidants, making the chocolate into one health drink. Phenol, an antioxidant capable of reducing cholesterol in the blood so it can reduce the risk of heart attack are also useful to prevent the incidence of cancer in the body, preventing the occurrence of stroke and high blood. Also the fat content in chocolate high quality proven cholesterol-free and does not clog arteries.
Chocolate also contains some vitamins are useful to the body such as vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E. In addition, chocolate contains substances and nutrients that are essential for the body such as iron, potassium and calcium. Cocoa itself is the highest natural source of magnesium. If someone is magnesium deficiency, can cause hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, joint pain and problems that women monthly pre-menstrual (PMS). By eating chocolate will add magnesium in daily nutrient intake that causes increased levels of progesterone in women. This reduces the negative effects of PMS.
Chocolate for Beauty
Other benefits of chocolate is to beauty, because antioxidants and catechins in it can prevent premature aging, so do not be surprised if this time developing a very good chocolate scrubs for skin beauty.
Best Healthy Chocolate Types
Many types of chocolate are available in the market. There are expensive, some are cheap. What are the differences? Here is the comparison type of chocolate and benefits of each.
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Dark Chocolate
Dark Chocolate contains cocoa beans (cocoa) is the highest for at least 70% containing cocoa. Dark chocolate contains cocoa or chocolate beans ever, without a lot of sugar and no trans fats or hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO).
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White Chocolate
While white chocolate has only 33% chocolate or cocoa content, the rest is sugar, milk and vanilla. These sugars can give negative effects, such as tooth decay and diabetes.
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Chocolate Milk or Chocolate Milk
Milk chocolate or milk chocolate is cocoa mixed with milk and sugar added. This type of chocolate is also very popular because it tastes delicious.
Any careful Eating Chocolate
Mistakes are often made when selecting chocolate is to choose chocolate "branded" a cheap or very cheap. Thus chocolate contains cocoa (cocoa beans) are on average slightly less than 20%, some even less than 7%. This type of chocolate also contains high sugar, high saturated fat content and other vices such as hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), thus resulting in tooth decay and disorders such as diabetes.
Other chocolate products are also dangerous and bad for health, especially in the form of fondant (usually used to decorate cakes) and pralines. Fondant actually contains 100% sweetener and pralines are also just as bad.
Where possible choose chocolate with the sugar content a bit so you can enjoy the great benefits that are owned chocolate. You will feel the benefits if you consume cocoa or chocolate with cocoa content is high. Enjoy your chocolate!
