Vancouver Dating by Matchmaker and Dating Expert Sheree Morgan

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There is always Chocolate (it’s medicinal)

June 24th, 2009 by Sheree Morgan

imagesNo matter what our  trials and tribulations there is always one thing we can count on. CHOCOLATE, I am not talking about  the dime store brand, I am talking about good chocolate. You know the kind I mean, the  sweet, rich, creamy, chocolate that truly satisfies.  Why do you think some many women are chocoholics and many men have now discovered the wonders of  that wonderful treat?  No partner at the moment, you might want to have a few squares to satisfy that lusty urge. There are many options of chocolate, one to suit everyone’s unique needs and pleasures. There’s milk ( my personal favourite), dark (the healthiest choice) and white (for the real sweet tooth).

LINDT or LINDOR  chocolate are my absolute favourites and  every holiday season I gift all my children and their partners with some of their favourites. My daughter in law has often referred to Lindor chocolate as “little balls of pleasure” and she is so right.  There is nothing quite like it, I am a self confessed chocoholic and proud of it. You will always find some in my cupboards, somewhere. While my children were still young I had to hide it, as they would eat the whole bar immediately and I only eat a few squares each day.  It was my one  guilty pleasure and  indulgence and I would not give it up easily. Now it appears that it really is medicinal, seriously.

Here is a little information on this wonder drug:

In Aztec society, chocolate was reserved mainly for priests and the very wealthy. But it also was given to soldiers because of the strength it was believed to impart. In 1529, when the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes arrived in the court of Aztec ruler Montezuma, he and his crew were impressed by this magical drink chocolate, which the Aztecs called “xocoatl” for bitter water. Cortes wrote to King Carlos I of Spain that he had found a “drink that builds up resistance and fights fatigue.” For centuries, chocolate was not eaten in the bar form we know, but consumed as a drink. To the Mayans, Aztecs and Early-Europeans, this frothy brew made from the cacao bean was a phenomenon of nature. These early chocolate-lovers were likely impressed by chocolate because of its mild stimulant value — it made them feel awake, alert, strong. Chocolate quickly gained a reputation as food vital for health. Documents detailing Aztec life showed that chocolate was viewed as a medicinal marvel. The documents, known as the Badianus and the Florentine Codices, were written in the Aztec’s native language and were found after the Spanish conquest.  “Cacao flowers were ingredients in perfumed baths, and thought to cure fatigue in government officials and others who held public office,” says the Badianus Codex, published in 1552. The Florentine Codex, published in 1590, called for a mixture of cacao beans, maize and herbs to ease fever and panting, and to treat the faint of heart. ( People knew about the benefits for many years, this is not new information!)

Dr. William Hughes, an English physician in 1672 wrote “Chocolate nourishes and preserves health entirely, yet causes a pleasant and natural sleep and rest”.   “Drunk twice a day, a man may very well subsist therewith, not taking anything else at all.”  (WOW, pretty amazing statement).

Our forefathers were right. It’s more than wishful thinking — chocolate can be good for you. Studies show that eating chocolate, primarily dark chocolate, may contribute to improved cardiovascular health. Packed with natural antioxidants, dark chocolate and cocoa sit in the same good-for-you category as green tea and blueberries. That’s because chocolate comes from cacao beans (or cocoa beans), which grow on the cacao tree and are full of natural plant nutrients. Most of the studies to date highlight dark chocolate’s health values because it has the highest percentage of cocoa solids, therefore more flavanol antioxidants. One serving of dark chocolate has more antioxidant capacity than a serving of blueberries or cranberries. The reason why cocoa and dark chocolate pack such a punch is because the antioxidants are so concentrated. Antioxidants known as polpyphenols make up more than 10 percent of the weight of dry raw cocoa beans.  As well short-term clinical trials, discovered that dark chocolate has reduced blood pressure, improved blood flow, showed mild anti-clotting effects and may help prevent plaque formation in arteries.  Despite its sweet reputation, dark chocolate has a low glycemic index similar to that of oatmeal,  it does not send your blood sugar spiking.  (I told you it was  good for you!)
 
There is one more benefit that I need to mention Phenylethylamine (PEA) This compound may be responsible for some of the pleasurable feelings you get after eating chocolate because it releases natural feel-good chemicals called endorphins in your brain. PEA is  also released by the brain when people are falling in love.  I knew there was a reason that I craved chocolate, I am a hopeless romantic! Ah well, If there is no true love in your life, there is always chocolate.  But may I recommend that just as you should when you look for love, pick the very best that you can find. Cheap chocolate  is full of wax, too much sugar, very little real cocoa and it even if you eat the whole bar it  just doesn’t satisfy.  I hope I have helped relieved any guilty feelings about chocolate, enjoy!
PS. I am not recommending you eat the whole bar just a few pieces at a time  
 
*for more information on this wonderful thing we call chocolate.  http://www.allchocolate.com/
 

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