Little chocolate for your healthy heart

In Valentine's Day approaches, one of Cupid in the time honored means of love through the heart in the form of boxes of chocolate. And while chocolate May soothe the soul and delight taste buds, a growing number of studies have shown that it is also good for your health.
Dark chocolate contains a large amount of flavonoids - powerful antioxidants in red wine, green tea, fruits and vegetables that have been associated with reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and stroke.

Moreover, recent studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that a few squares of dark chocolate a day can reduce the risk of heart attack by almost 50 per cent. Researchers speculate substances in cocoa beans to reduce the clumping of blood platelets - and possibly blocking the major arteries of the blood - in much the same way as aspirin.

And chocolate can help fight the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), according to a British study.

The study participants received 45g specially formulated dark chocolate which contains 85 percent cocoa and rich in flavonoids. They have chocolate every day for eight weeks.

Researchers said that people felt less fatigued after eating chocolate, but feel tired, when given the placebo. Interestingly, the research participants did not report any weight as a result of this study. (The chocolate used in the study are not sold on a commercial basis, however, specifically designed for research purposes.)

Chocolate can enhance the activation of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which regulates sleep and mood, the researchers speculated. CFS symptoms include severe and prolonged fatigue that is not relieved at rest and not directly caused by other conditions. Causes of CFS, not fully understood.

While chocolate may offer many health benefits, experts say moderation is key, because chocolate is also loaded with fat, sugar and calories. Only dark chocolate that contains cocoa powder, provides a healthy profit. Neither the white chocolate or milk chocolate contains enough cocoa to provide the same protective effect.

Chocolate - the age-old love of food

Chocolate is believed to contain the same chemical - phenylaline, which produces the brain when people fall in love. Because it produces such a sense of happiness and prosperity, chocolate has long been considered a food of love.

Derived from the beans of the cacao tree, chocolate is a native to the Amazon in South America. Legend claims that around 1500 BC, people believed Mesoamerica feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl gave the cacao tree as a gift, that would give wisdom to all those who consumed fruit. In 600 AB, Mayan culture had been established cocoa plantations. During this time, cocoa beans were so valuable they were used as currency.

These ancient culture of consumption of chocolate as the frothy beverage. Dried and fermented cocoa beans were zero, and mixed with water and spices, such as Hot Chili Peppers.

For Mesoamericans, drink cocoa is not just a religious rite, but a way to give a person "lucky in love." It was the custom, for example, for couples, the ritual of drinking a cup of cocoa when they married. And Aztec ruler Montezuma reportedly drank many cups of cocoa every day, hoping it would make him a better lover.