Was Chocolate Used As Medicine

Was Chocolate Used As Medicine

Chocolate is a fruit pod from the cacao tree, Theobroma Cacao. The cacao pods are harvested when they are still green and unripe, and then put in a fermentation tank to ferment and ripen. The beans inside the pods are then dried and cleaned for storage and sale. Chocolate has been used medicinally by the ancient Mayans and Aztecs, and by the African and European natives..

Was chocolate a medicine?

Yes, chocolate was considered a medicine before it was widely known as a candy. Chocolate was also once considered the cure for the common cold. Chocolate has more than 200 compounds that keep the body healthy. The cacao bean is the basis for all of chocolate. The cacao bean is the beginning of the production of chocolate; the beans are fermented, dried, roasted, and separated from their shells to be made into chocolate. There are 80 different varieties of cacao beans, but only five are used for making chocolate. The cocoa tree can grow up to 20 feet tall and can live for more than 50 years..

What was chocolate used for?

Chocolate was used for cosmetics, medicine, and drink to the ancient Maya and Aztecs. The richest drink in all their land was made of chocolate mixed with salt, spices, and ground corn meal..

How was chocolate used as food and medicine?

The Mayans and Aztecs called the drink “xocoatl,” and Aztecs believed that it had powerful aphrodisiac qualities and used it in rituals and ceremonies. The Spanish conquistadors were the first Europeans to sample the bitter brew and spread the popularity of chocolate to Europe and America. The Aztecs used chocolate as a drink, as a sauce for other foods, as a cake ingredient, as a love potion, as a treatment for constipation, as an ingredient in medicines, and as a symbol of social status. The Mayans considered cocoa beans to be sacred, and they used the beans in many of their rituals. They used hot water to make a cocoa drink for long journeys, special occasions, and medicine. An Aztec legend tells of a princess who was sent to the earth by the *** of the sky. She brought cocoa beans with her, and taught the people how to cook with them..

Does chocolate have medicinal benefits?

Chocolate contains a number of health benefits. It contains antioxidants that can help fight of diseases. It can be used to help treatment of several medical conditions. It is said that chocolate can be used to cure headaches, toothaches, diarrhea, sunburns, heartburn among others. However, it is not advisable to have too much chocolate during pregnancy or while breastfeeding so as to avoid any health issues. I hope this answers your question..

Is there oxytocin in chocolate?

Chocolate has a chemical called phenylethylamine, which stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter for motivation and reward, and one particular part of the brain (the nucleus accumbens) is highly sensitive to it. This makes chocolate one of the most addictive substances known to man, because it releases both dopamine and serotonin, which makes you feel good. It’s also called “the love drug” because it causes your brain to release oxytocin, which is the chemical your brain releases when you feel the emotion of love. It’s also why chocolate is associated with romance..

Is chocolate bad for health?

Chocolate contains many nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. However, it also contains a lot of fat, sugar, and calories. Chocolate is considered bad for health if consumed in large amounts or if it replaces other foods that are more nutrient-dense. And, of course, chocolate is especially bad for the teeth..

Did Aztecs smoke chocolate?

In all likelihood, they did not. At the very least, they did not do it in the manner we do. If you think about, what is the purpose of smoking a substance? It is to preserve the substance, and make it more durable. Chocolate, a foodstuff, is not really meant to be smoked. If you smoke a chocolate, you aren’t going to have a chocolate for a long time. You are going to have a burnt mess..

Who invented chocolate?

The modern history of chocolate began with its discovery by the Olmecs, a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico. The word chocolate derives from the Classical Nahuatl word chocola?tl, meaning “bitter water”. The Nahuatl word, in turn, ultimately derives from the Proto-Olmec word for the Nahuatl word for “bitterness”. The Olmec, having established cacao plantations, built a number of ancient civilizations based upon agriculture..

Are there ants in chocolate?

__% of the world’s cocoa beans are harvested in Western Africa. However, the cocoa beans are harvested from the trees, not the pods. Therefore, there are no ants inside chocolate. However, according to National Geographic, there are some other creepy crawlies in the cocoa beans, namely the larvae of the cocoa beetle. The larvae are left behind in the pods when the cocoa tree harvests the pods. Next time when you’re enjoying a delicious bar of chocolate don’t worry too much about the ants in the chocolate. The future of chocolate lovers is safe. :).

How did chocolate improve public health?

The main thing in the link between chocolate and public health is a plant called Theobroma cacao. It’s in the same family as coffee and tobacco, and its fruit cocoa beans contain a lot of caffeine. The chocolate we make from cocoa beans is sometimes called “theobromine,” which sometimes leads people into thinking that chocolate is a stimulant. In fact, cocoa beans are high in a related compound, “theophylline,” which is a bronchodilator. We all know that chocolate contains caffeine [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] , so it’s not a big deal! One study of young adults found a small but significant increase in blood pressure after eating a chocolate bar with a lot of cocoa [6] . But a more recent study found no change in blood pressure after eating dark chocolate with a lot of cocoa [7] . In fact, chocolate might even be good for public health because it contains flavonoids [8] . And the anti-inflammatory properties of cocoa may help with asthma [9] . Finally, eating dark chocolate may help you live longer [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] . It seems like some of the health benefits of chocolate are more like the health benefits of vegetable oil, but chocolate’s benefits are still worth considering..

Did the ancient Romans eat chocolate?

The Mayans and the Aztecs did. But the ancient Romans did not eat chocolate, not exactly. They did eat a drink made from a bean of a cacao tree, a tree native to Mesoamerica, which today is known to be the source of cocoa..

Where is chocolate used for medicine?

It is a plant, a tree belonging to the genus Theobroma , a genus that only contains the species Theobroma cacao . Its seeds are a valuable food crop, and its resin is a biological ointment. The fruit of the plant is heavily sweetened , made into beverages, and used for flavoring in most countries, whereas most of the cocoa processed for cocoa butter is used for manufacturing chocolate . This includes most of the cocoa beans imported for processing..

Is it OK to eat chocolate every day?

There is no hard and fast rule about consuming chocolate in a day. If you like chocolate and you have a busy schedule, it wouldn’t hurt to have a piece of chocolate every day. However, it would not be a good idea to have a lot of chocolate every day. Chocolate is delicious, but it is unhealthy for the body too. It contains a lot of sugar and other ingredients that humans aren’t really supposed to have. Too much of anything is bad. So, if you want to eat chocolate every day, keep the amount small..

Why is chocolate so addictive?

Chocolate, which is one of the most popular type of food in the world, has natural ingredient known as “Theobromine” which make people addictive towards it. According to the journal “Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior”, it can be found that Theobromine acts as a stimulant and produces similar effects as methylxanthine drugs such as caffeine and theophylline. Theobromine is found in large quantities in dark chocolate and cocoa beans. Also, Cacao plant itself contains caffeine as well as small amounts of theobromine..

What chocolate does to your brain?

One thing is clear, though: Chocolate makes you happy. So does ***. Why? Both turn on the same neurotransmitters, dopamine and endorphin. And both are equally seductive. Chocolate is so enticing to us that it has become one of the most popular drugs of abuse. Chocolate affects your brain in some very specific ways, especially if it’s the kind that’s rich in the chemical theobromine..