He cocoa For more than 3,000 years, when it arrived from the Amazon to Central America and Mexico, it has been considered a divine food. So much so that its scientific name means food of the gods in Latin. According to Aztec legend, Quetzalcoatl gave them this blessing in the form of a seed. It was so important that it was used as currency.
How do we get to chocolate?
According to anthropologists it all started with the drink “ Cacahuatl” (bitter juice in Nahuatl, Aztec language) or Xocolatl (hot water in Mayan), made with cured and ground cocoa beans (generating cocoa paste), corn flour and chili peppers mixed with hot water. This was an offering to the gods and only the nobles drank it. Currently, cocoa paste mixed with sugar is used to produce chocolate as we know it. As defined by the French Chef JA Brillat-Savarin in 1896.
Coinciding with International Chocolate Day, which is celebrated on September 13, Dr. Ramón Estruch, president of the Scientific Committee of the Cocoa Observatory in Spain, points out that cocoa has high health values. Together with the Mediterranean diet it may be associated with protection against cardiovascular and nervous system diseases.
The types of chocolates can be classified into 5 according to their amount of cocoa:
- Black or bitter : It is about 60 percent cocoa and has low levels of sugar, but some call it unsweetened anyway.
- Semi-bitter : In some cases it is also called dark chocolate. It has between 40 and 59 percent cocoa, increasing the sugar level.
- With milk : Between 24 to 39 percent cocoa. It has dairy in the mix, usually powdered milk.
- White : Cocoa paste is not used as such, rather cocoa butter (oils, that is, vegetable fat) is used, sugar and dairy products.
Ruby chocolate, launched on the market very few years ago, does not correspond to a type of chocolate in relation to its cocoa percentage. Rather, it is a chocolate produced from a variant of cocoa that is naturally pink in color.
Among its beneficial components are:
- Polyphenols, with great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity. Dr. Estruch points out that it protects against many chronic diseases.
- Theobromine, only found in cocoa, which works like caffeine, stimulating our nervous system to be more alert (for example, when studying) and releasing neurotransmitters that makes us feel happy and comfortable with a delicious piece of chocolate. .
- Magnesium, a mineral for the proper functioning of the Circulatory and Nervous System and muscle contraction. It is found in high quantities in this food
Black and better in moderation
Now, not everything is hunky dory. Dr. Estruch points out that the benefits are observed in chocolates that have more than 70 percent cocoa (dark chocolate). It must be taken into account that as cocoa decreases, the amount of refined sugar increases, a nutrient that in high doses is associated with high rates of obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
So, a piece of a rich chocolate with more than 70% is a great option to treat yourself and enjoy all its benefits.
PRONAPRESA
"Because prevention is better than cure"
