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We love to talk with our mouths full of chocolate, especially when discussing these interesting side notes about our favorite subject.
Chocolate contains caffeine
True, but only a fraction of the amount contained in regular coffee and some teas.
Chocolate is an aphrodisiac
An especially popular urban legend, for some reason or other. Some evidence suggests that cocoa is, in fact, a mild aphrodisiac. However, chocolate contains over 300 different chemical compounds. Scientists still don’t understand exactly why people react so positively to chocolate or crave it; theories on both subjects are plentiful.
Until proven otherwise, we'll keep happily testing this theory.
More than "31 Flavors"
Chocolate has over 500 flavor components, more than twice the amount found in strawberry and vanilla.
The United States LOVES chocolate
Annual per capita consumption of chocolate is 12 pounds per person.
Chocolate from home
The United States produces more chocolate than any other country in the world but the Swiss consume the most, followed by the English.
Chocolate around the world
Americans eat an average of twenty-two pounds of candy each year (that's about 2.8 BILLION pounds annually!!) Yet, this is still far less chocolate than most Europeans eat.
Food for thought (NOT for your Chocolate Lab)
Chocolate can be lethal to dogs. Theobromine, an ingredient that stimulates the cardiac muscle and the central nervous system, causes chocolate's toxicity. About two ounces of milk chocolate can be poisonous for a 10-lb puppy.
Chocolate does not raise your cholesterol level
Chocolate does contain saturated fat, the type often associated with elevated levels of LDL. But the saturated fat in chocolate consists primarily of both stearic and oleic acids, neither of which has been linked scientifically to higher LDL numbers.
Chocolate Week in the UK
What better way to pay homage to the art of chocolate than to spend a week tasting, talking and learning all about it!
Every year around mid-fall Chocolate Shops, Bookstores and Chocolate Manufacturers in the UK collaborate to offer special events for Chocolate Week! The celebration is filled with opportunities including free tastings, talks by Chocolatiers, launches of new chocolates and much more.
For all you chocolate lovers out there, October looks to be a great month for a vacation in the UK! To find out more about Chocolate Week go to www.chocolate-week.co.uk.
Dk Chocolate fights fatigue...
Patients in a study done at Hull York Medical School in England found that they had less fatigue when eating dark chocolate with a high cocoa content than with white chocolate dyed brown.
The results are explainable because of chocolate's known effect on seratonin in the brain, and dark chocolate is high in polyphenols which can help in the reduction of blood pressure as well.
The results are encouraging (especially for dark chocolate lovers!) but there are still some unknowns that must be studied further. And before getting too carried away, remember as with many of lifes great pleasures, everything in moderation!
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