Skip to main content

BLOG #8 - THE VALUE OF CHOCOLATE

For the ancient culture of the Americas, chocolate, or cacao, was a sacred plant. Its use began with the Olmecs around 1200 B.C. and continued with the Maya and Aztec. The Aztec restricted drinks made from cacao seeds to ceremonial use and consumption by high-ranking adults males - priests, government officials and warriors.
               Mesoamericans recognized the general properties of cacao, later called cocoa, and used it to treat intestinal complaints, to calm the nerves and as a stimulant. Mixed with maize and other herbs, cacao treated fever, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations. Cacao flowers were ingested to treat fatigue; cocoa butter, the creamy fat in the beans, soothed burns, irritated skin, and chapped lips.
Cocoa plant

               European explorers brought cocoa to western culture, where it became very popular as a delicacy and as a medicinal plant. Its assigned scientific genus name, Theobroma, means "food of the gods". Today, studies shows that cacao seeds contains more than 300 different chemical compounds. These include the stimulant caffeine as well as theobromine, an alkaloid that has a calming effect on the brain and an energizing effect on the nervous system.

               Cacao also contain compounds that tend to reduce depression, and may induce a slight sense of euphoria, as well as powerful antioxidant compounds that may help protect against cancer and heart diseases. Some medical professionals even recommend a daily "dose" of about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate for its cardiovascular benefits.


Cocoa Seeds

Comments

  1. it is interesting ðŸĪŠðŸĪŠðŸ‘ŒðŸ‘Œ keep it up

    ReplyDelete
  2. full of appreciation...👌👌👌

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BLOG #1 - THE BIG BANG - COSMIC BEGINNINGS

Accepted astrophysical theories posit that at one point there was nothing: no stars, planets or galaxies - not even the space itself. The matter that makes up everything that now exists was concentrated in a single, extremely dense point known as a singularity. The force of gravity in a singularity is so great that the fabric of space time curves in on itself. In an instant known as the big bang, however, the contents of the primordial singularity escaped - and formed the universe.                The big bang is a catchy shorthand for a complex astrophysical theory, backed up with sophisticated calculations. The term was coined in the 1950s by British astronomer Fred Boyle, a proponent of a theory of the universe as a steady state. In fact, Boyle used the term derisively. Though the name stuck, it gives a false impression, making it seem as though the event that unleashed all the energy of the universe almost 14 billion years ago was an e...

Some Special(yet some common) Things to START BELIEVING in yourself AGAIN - PART 5

...to be continued. 13) Accept your emotions without judging them You all know what, you will agree to this. Emotions are very big players, both against and with us. Whenever we experience an uncomfortable feeling, such as sadness, fear or anger, our first instinct is to ignore it, reject it or push it away. And this fair enough, we don’t really want to walk around feeling emotional pain all the time. Emotions give us useful information about our lives. It’s understanding that you don’t need to “control” your emotions. They cannot do any damage to you.  This means allowing your emotions to just be without negatively judging them or trying to change them. 14) Get rid of these 5 toxic beliefs Your beliefs and thoughts shape the perspective of your life. The way you think, interpret and react to a situation depends on your beliefs that matter for you.  But if your beliefs aren’t accurate, they could be negatively affecting you. Here are some beliefs that may sabotage our life: i....

Questions that question YOU from YOU - PART 1

Sometimes we get too caught up in our every day lives that we tend to forget one of our most basic instincts as humans — to question. And our lives have indeed become so easy and so simple, that we never get curious anymore. Thanks to the tech, obviously. After all, we are i the 21st century. So, in this piece for you, I've got some questions to make you spark the plugs into your grey matter.(not the GRAY matter,  its the grey matter) Now what's the grey matter first ? Grey  matter  contains most of the brain's neuronal cell bodies. The grey  matter  includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control, and sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control. Enough for the intro, I guess. So, here are the questions. Q. Why do we all FEAR death ? Q. What is REALITY ? Q. Is our SOCIETY teaching us the WRONG things ? Q. Is TIME only a concept made by humans ? Is it something we RESTRICT ourselves with ? Q....