Chocolate lovers come in two categories. One – you love chocolate so much but feel like your being naughty when you divulge your pleasure in eating it. Two – Must have it at all cost and could care less if it adds a pound or more. It’s worth it.
Regardless, you’re a chocolate lover and you should read these facts about your forever obsession. While you’re at it, grab a Snickers Bar, you’ll need the extra peanut protein as you expend precious energy reading.
Mel Gibson said: “After about 20 years of marriage, I’m finally starting to scratch the surface of that one thing women want and I think the answer lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate.”
Contrary to rumor, the Baby Ruth candy bar created in 1920 was not named for the legendary baseball player, but for President Grover Cleveland’s new baby daughter Ruth.
Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, “Psycho” which actually took 7 days to shoot.
Chocolate has over 500 flavor components, more than twice the amount found in strawberry and vanilla.
U.S. chocolate manufacturers use about 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make chocolate.
The Aztecs believed chocolate can cause a man to fall in love and they weren’t that far off. Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is believed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love.
Its been found that it’s a myth that chocolate aggravates acne.
Chocolate (the cacao) contains the stimulants Theo bromine and caffeine, which can reduce stress and give you a sense of mild euphoria, or happiness.
The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature (98.6 degrees) – which is why it literally melts in your mouth.
Chocolate can be lethal to dogs. Theobromine, an ingredient that stimulates the cardiac muscle and the central nervous system, causes chocolate’s toxicity. About two ounces of milk chocolate can be poisonous for a 10-lb puppy.
It is reported that Napoleon carried chocolate with him on his military campaigns, and always ate it when he needed quick energy.
Cocoa beans were used as currency by the Mayan and Aztec civilizations over 1400 years ago. When they had too much money to spend, they brewed the excess into hot chocolate drinks.
The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word “xocolatl”, which means “bitter water”.
Clinical studies in 1999 on 23 subjects at the Pennsylvania State University found that cocoa and dark chocolate had favorable effects on risk factors for cardiovascular heart disease by reducing LDL oxidation susceptibility and increased serum HDL-C levels. Feel better; get truffles or pralines in your daily diet.
On the fourth visit of Christopher Columbus to the Americas, he came across cocoa beans, which he presented to the Spanish court. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, however, dismissed chocolate as a bizarre tribal concoction
