Mumbai: Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend did not have their hearts broken, only to seek comfort in chocolates. Not that we need any excuse; chocolates are our buddies any day.
Whether you are feeling low or high, chocolates are our all time favourite dessert to celebrate with.
This International Chocolate’s Day we bring you the strangest facts about chocolates:
Chocolate makes us happy…with Science
There are a lot of naturally occurring chemicals in chocolate that are either good for us or affect our mood. There’s a chemical that induces feelings associated with love (which we’ll get to later), as well as tryptophan, which makes us very happy.
Tryptophan (which is also found in turkey) influences the levels of endorphins in the human brain and increases the production of serotonin, which leads to elevated states of euphoria.)
The Aztecs and Mayans used Cacao beans as crrency
Ancients believed chocolate was the food of the gods. Aztec and Mayan kings drank cups of warm chocolate on a regular basis, and the magical cacao bean, so valued in pre-Columbian America, was used as a form of currency.
Rather than walk around with coins in their pockets, or loincloths, or whatever, folks would swap cacao beans for goods and services.
Cocoa can ward off tooth decay
You probably think chocolate is full of sugar or artificial sweetener, and it isn’t good for our teeth. Well, it is, but it doesn’t have to be. Pure cocoa can actually help prevent tooth decay.
Certain naturally occurring chemicals in cocoa beans fight harmful bacteria in the mouth. Chocolate’s ability to deal with the microscopic crawlies living on the surface of your teeth is so effective that it might be added to toothpastes and mouthwashes one day—minus the sugar, of course.
Americans consume almost half the world’s chocolate
If you think Americans eat too much chocolate, you’re right. As it turns out, we consume about half of all of the world’s chocolate (although we’re not first on a per capita basis), which weighs in at more than three billion pounds. Don’t worry, Europeans still come in at about 40% of the planet’s chocolate consumption.
Chocolate Is Literally Chemical Love
Chocolate contains a chemical called phenylethylamine. Phenylethylamine releases certain “pleasure” endorphins in the brain, which make people feel good all over — similar to how they feel when they’re madly in love. While chocolate might not be a perfect love substitute, it’s one of the best alternates you’ll find produced in mass quantity.
