Chocolate: The "Food of the Cods’" 1. The history of chocolate ■ Theobr

Chocolate: The "Food of the Gods"
   Good morning, everyone! Today we will explore the history of chocolate — a favorite food for many people. Researchers have known for some time that chocolate is good for the heart. We will look at a study that shows why this is so. We also will talk about the health effects of dark chocolate.
   The history of chocolate begins with a plant whose scientific name — Theo-broma cacao — means "food of the gods." For centuries, people have been enjoying the rich flavor of chocolate, a product made from this plant.
   Historians believe the Mayan people of Central America first learned to farm cacao plants around 2, 000 years ago. The Maya took the cacao trees from the rainforests and grew them around their homes. They cooked the cacao seeds, and then crushed them into a soft paste. They mixed the paste with water and flavorful spices to make an unsweetened chocolate drink.
   Researchers have known that chocolate — especially dark chocolate — is good for the heart. Now, they know why. Besides tasting good, researchers have found that dark chocolate protects against heart disease in two ways: it returns movement to hardening arteries. It also keeps white blood cells from gathering on blood vessel walls. Both of these conditions can lead to plaque formation. Plaque can block the flow of blood, causing heart disease. The heart-healthy substance in chocolate is an organic substance called flavanol. Flavanols are also found in vegetables, fruits and green tea.
   Although dark chocolate has been shown to help prevent heart disease. Eating too much of it may cause people to gain weight. Now, scientists are looking for a way to put dark chocolate’s helpful ingredients — or parts — into pills. That way, we can get the benefits of dark chocolate, but not the weight gain.
   Cacao has flavanols that may help reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. These chemicals may lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and improve the body’s use of insulin. Insulin helps control the amount of glucose or sugar in the blood.
   Dark chocolate is an increasingly popular product, because people love it, and they also have been reading all about the health benefits of dark chocolate.
   But those health benefits have yet to be confirmed in studies involving large numbers of people. Also, during the manufacture of chocolate, many flavanoids are destroyed, while sugar and fats are added to make the chocolate taste better.
   Scientists want to learn the benefits of flavanols before they are changed in the manufacturing process. They have announced plans for a four-year-long study of 18, 000 adults. The subjects will take small amounts of pure cacao flavanols. The study is believed to be the largest of its kind.
   The subjects in the new study are to be separated into two groups. Members of one group will take pills containing flavanols. The other group will take "placebo" pills — substances that do not have anything in them, other than, perhaps, sugar.
   Well, the flavanol benefits test is just starting. So for now, people will have to get their flavanols the tasty way, that is, by eating dark chocolate! Ok, that’s all for today’s talk. I hope you all enjoy it and find it informative.