Not so long ago, a new, hard — to-pronounce word appeared in our language-chocolate-alcoholic. This is what those who find it difficult to give up their favorite product even in the name of the most proven diet call themselves! And is it necessary to refuse? Dr. Boris Akimov talks about the beneficial properties of chocolate.
Chocolate is the drink of the gods. Why drink? Because the Aztecs, who introduced the successful adventurer Cortez to chocolate, drank a hot drink consisting of cocoa, honey, vanilla and pepper.
Chocolate is a special product, it has nourishing, tonic and antidepressant properties. That is why it has long been included in the diet of people whose work and life is associated with heavy loads and stresses — from Aztec messengers and Spanish partisans to modern pilots. I always have a bar of chocolate in my car — it is good to eat it on long trips, one bar will charge you with energy for several hours, and it does not tend to sleep, especially during a night drive.
The nutritional properties of chocolate are due to the high calorie content of sugar and butter contained in it, and not cocoa: in dry cocoa, no more than 50 kcal per 100 g, and good chocolate contains 546 kcal-ten times more!
Tonic and antidepressant properties are mainly associated with the content of theobromine, caffeine, phenylethylamine, and serotonin in chocolate. In general, cocoa beans contain almost all the vitamins and trace elements necessary for our body. Universal medicine. And, as a real medicine, bitter – “chokolatl” in Aztec “bitter water”.
Confectioners offer three types of chocolate: black (bitter), milk and white. Bitter chocolate contains at least 50% cocoa, milk chocolate — from 30 to 50%, and white chocolate does not contain at all. This is not surprising, because cocoa is dark brown (chocolate) color and if the product is not brown, then it is not chocolate!
The more cocoa in chocolate, the more healthy it is. In addition to tonic and antidepressant properties, chocolate has the ability to improve the activity of the brain, the cardiovascular system and normalizes metabolic processes. Yes, from chocolate, black, of course, do not get fat, rather the opposite, besides, a lot of dark chocolate is not so easy to eat! And King Montezuma drank at least 30 cups of chocolate a day, as he had a large harem. So chocolate is also a great aphrodisiac.
I do not know the harmful properties of cocoa for human health, except for individual intolerance, so never deny yourself the pleasure of eating a bar of dark chocolate. With milk, be careful — there is a lot of sugar in it, also do not lean too much on chocolate candies, especially beware of chocolate bars — they have even more sugar (caramel) and less cocoa.
And do not feed your pets chocolate-theobromine, which has a beneficial effect on the human body, can cause toxic effects in animals.