This is a résumé of the previous page

. My purpose is to http://www.geocities.com/emilioshop/inform you about the chocolate effects on health, and, more specifically, to bring you up to date with the latest research.

To start with, I’d like to describe briefly the evolution of chocolate through the years. The story of chocolate, as far back as we know it, begins with the discovery of America.

The Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look at the principal ingredient of chocolate when Columbus returned in triumph from America and offered a treasure to the Spanish thrown. It was the cocoa beans, today’s source of all our chocolate and cocoa.

The Spanish had used these cocoa beans to prepare a delicious hot drink. The new drink quickly won friends, especially among the Spanish aristocracy. Spain wisely proceeded to plant cacao in its overseas colonies, which gave birth to a very profitable business. Remarkably enough, the Spanish succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years.

Spanish monks, who had been consigned to process the cocoa beans, finally let the secret out. It did not take long before chocolate was acclaimed throughout Europe as a delicious, health-giving food.

The 19^th Century marked two revolutionary developments in the history of chocolate. In 1847, an English company introduced solid “eating chocolate”. The second development occurred in 1876 in Vevey, Switzerland, when Daniel Peter devised a way of adding milk to the chocolate, creating the product we enjoy today known as milk chocolate.

Let’s move on to the effect of chocolate on health. Many of the old myths have given a balanced picture of chocolate and cocoa products and their relation to health and nutrition.

Chocolate and Acne: Over the past two decades, research revealed that chocolate neither causes nor aggravates acne. In research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, two groups of teenagers who had acne conditions, both experiencing the same living, dining and physical activities. One group avoided all chocolate for four weeks, the other included a minimum of three bars in their daily diet. After four weeks, clinical observations showed no significant changes in the acne conditions in either group.

Chocolate and Caffeine: The amount of caffeine ingested when people eat chocolate in normal quantities is very small, about the same as the amount found in a cup of decaffeinated coffee.

Chocolate and Dental Caries: It is widely accepted that all foods containing “fermentable carbohydrates” have the potential to contribute to caries formation. Although chocolate contains fermentable carbohydrates, research at the Forsyth Dental Center in Boston and at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine has shown that cocoa and chocolate have the ability to offset the acid-producing potential of the sugar they contain.

Turning to Milk chocolate, research proved that it contains high quantity of protein, calcium, phosphate and other minerals which have all exhibited protective effects on tooth.

Chocolate and Nutrients: Chocolate provides a number of nutrients the body requires daily: Protein, riboflavin, calcium, and iron. Almonds, peanuts and milk added to chocolate increase the nutrients in a bar.

Chocolate and Weight Control: More important in controlling weight is the total number of calories consumed each day and the amount of energy expended in physical activity. Overweight people are generally less active than those of normal weight; thus, they may remain overweight even when their caloric intake is reasonable or even limited. Moreover, many people overestimate the calories in chocolate. A 1.4 ounce milk chocolate bar contains approximately 210 calories.

Chocolate and Cocoa Butter: Research has shown that cocoa butter, despite its high saturated fat content, does not raise blood cholesterol levels as do other saturated fats. This due to its high satiric acid content that may reduce levels of cholesterol in the blood.

To summaries, as a chocoholic, I advise you to change that bad idea you have about chocolate. And eat chocolate everyday because it is so delicious.