Mysteries of Chocolate
Neuroscience for Kids Staff Writer
Chocolate History
More than 3000 years ago, the Mayans and Aztecs of the Americas
consumed
chocolate. These people drank cacao, or the chocolate bean, which was
ground into hot water, like the hot chocolate we drink today. However,
their cacao was rather bitter and had chilies in it. For those of us who
hoard our chocolate candies, it is easy to understand why the Mayans and
Aztecs used cacao beans as currency. Imagine using M&Ms instead of coins!
How did chocolate spread around the world? In 1502, on his fourth and last
voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus came upon a canoe that was
transporting agricultural products, including cacao beans. He seized the
contents of the canoe and brought cacao back to Spain. Chocolate did not
become popular for many years in Europe, but decades later, the Spaniards
added sugar to the cacao, and the rest, as they say, is history. Chocolate
soon became the preferred drink of the royal courts in Europe. The belief
was that chocolate could cure any illness.
Have you ever seen a cacao bean, (or, as it is more commonly known, a cocoa bean)? These beans grow on a tree called Theobroma cacao. The cacao tree is pollinated by insects called midges and is grown only within 10-20 degrees latitude of the Equator. These regions include West Africa, Central America, parts of South America, and the Caribbean Islands. The beans, which grow in the fruit pods of the tree, are generally harvested twice a year. Each pod is about the size of a hand and contains 20-50 beans. The pods turn bright yellow, orange, or red when ripe. The beans are dried, and then the center part is removed by hand and allowed to ferment. After the beans dry again, they are sold. The chocolate manufacturer must separate the beans from any debris, remove the hard outer shell, and grind the center part of the bean.
Chocolate candy bars, after-dinner mints, brownies, truffles, doughnuts,
chocolate milk-if it has chocolate in it, we eat it. Hot, cold, solid,
liquid, over ice cream...even over meat?! Yes, a Mexican sauce called
"mole" uses unsweetened chocolate in a sauce that is served over meat.
It's a versatile flavor, chocolate. Chocolate has been blamed for acne
and tooth decay, but research has found that it is innocent of these
evils. That must have made lots of people worldwide sigh in relief: the
chocolate industry sells five billion dollars worth of chocolate each year
in the U.S. alone. The U.S. is only the eighth largest consumer of
chocolate. Switzerland, whose citizens eat more than 21 pounds per person
each year, leads the world in chocolate consumption.
else will do. There's even
a name for someone who craves chocolate: a chocoholic. It's almost an
uncontrollable urge. 
Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine, a chemical related to
amphetamines. Like amphetamines, this chemical causes blood pressure and
blood-sugar levels to rise, resulting in a feeling of alertness and
contentment. Phenylethylamine has been called the "love-drug" because it
quickens your pulse, as if you are in love. Caffeine in chocolate may
also cause feelings of alertness and a pounding heart. Other stimulants in
chocolate include theobromine and methylxanthines. These
caffeine-relatives are weaker than caffeine-you'd have to eat more than 12
Hershey bars to get as much caffeine as there is in one cup of coffee. All
of these stimulants increase the activity of neurotransmitters in the
brain. 
For
references and more information on chocolate, see:![[email]](menue.gif)
