In the 1600’s, chocolate was thought to be a powerful aphrodisiac, inflaming lustful passion.  So much so that religious leaders banned monks and nuns from ingesting it.

In 1997, three French senators campaigned to have chocolate reclassified as ‘vital foodstuff.’  Chocolate, they claimed, with its high content of magnesium and various vitamins, as well as its stimulatory and anti-depressant properties, qualified for a reclassification, which would lower its tax rate from 20.5% and 5.5%.

Further, if chocolate were to be added to medicines, those drugs could qualify for the super duper reduced tax rate of 2.1% (applied to prescriptions) and these medicines could qualify for reimbursement by social security.

It’s the PEA (phenylethylamine) that gets the ‘sex’ pumping!  PEA creates feelings of euphoria, creating a yum-delish rush, as it causes the release of dopamine (the happy hormone).

Other foods that contain PEA are apples, avocados, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and last but not least almonds, which is said to increase women’s sex drive, as it potentially improves heart health.

10 Truths: The Power of Pure Chocolate

1. Sacred Roots. Unadulterated, untainted, unmodified, pure cacao beans, the source of pure raw chocolate, is where it’s at! They are still used for rituals, in medicine and celebration in the Yucatan Peninsula.

2. Love and Sex. Cacao beans are a natural drug.  They contain up to 2.2 percent phenylethylamine, the ‘love and sex’ chemical.  Cacao beans contain other compounds that enhance mood, joy, creativity and imagination. Imagine that!

3. Buyer Beware. The main ingredient in most commercial chocolates bars is sugar, not cacao. Read the labels!

4. Suppresses Appetite.   A shocker, no? Good fats are present in pure chocolate that that help to suppress appetite and stimulate the digestive system.

5. Ward Off Vascular Disease. Chocolates contain a compound called Flavanoids, which can ward off vascular disease that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. The darker the chocolate, the more bitter tasting it is, the higher the Flavanoids.

6. Milk Chocolate Nullifies. Milk chocolate is created when milk is added to chocolate liquor. While it creates that creamy taste and texture that we all love so much, it cancels out all the healthful benefits of the cacao. In fact, technically it’s milk candy not chocolate!

7. Mental Acuity. Research at West Virginia’s Wheeling Jesuit University suggests that chocolate may boost your memory, lengthen your attention span, shorten your reaction time and strengthen your problem-solving skills as it increases blood flow to the brain.

8. Natural Joy. Unfortunately, we have been cut off from the natural joys of chocolate, due to mass produced candies that are cooked at high temperatures, whose ingredients include refined sugars, processed milks, stabilizing agents, extra caffeine and waxes. Chocolate with high levels of cacao is naturally joyful.

9. Meant to be Savored. I suspect that chocolate was not put on this earth to help you escape. It is a sacred way of connecting – to the moment. To the beauty. To the ability to taste. Savor the moment.

10. Know Your Limits. Plan on your one square per day, no more than one-ounce, and again make it a ritual of beauty, peace and empowerment.