Hey there Girls and Boys,
Anyone ever tell you chocolate’s fattening? Or that it’ll give you pimples?
Do you squirrel away chocolate in a secret place?
Well, let me tell you a secret: it’s not the chocolate that’s risky; it’s too much of the other ingredients they sneak into the bar to sweeten it, amplify its naturally sensuous texture and smooth over its subtle hint of bitter. Chocolate itself is awesomely health-giving, truly a food of the gods, and a gift to us from them. The ancient Maya even carved its images in stone!
Now scientists have figured out why cacao was so revered:
It contains a ton of minerals and vitamins that can make us feel calm and intense at the same time. It revs up brain chemicals like the love hormone PEA, short for phenylethylamine, which is produced when we’re in love... endorphins that bring on “runners’ high”... serotonin, the happy hormone... and substances that increase a bliss chemical in the brain. Cacao even feeds the good bacteria in our gut that keep us healthy.
Why take a drug when we can eat chocolate? The magical kind is the natural kind, of course, and just the right amount—you’ll know....
And the magic formula? About 70% or more cacao.
Happy munching!
Your chocolate friend,
Heidi Dulay, Ed.D. (Harvard), M.S. (Stanford)
Nutritionist and Author
