Not only delicious, but also healthy: cognitive facts about chocolate

Sweets, cocoa, cakes, cakes, ice cream and, of course, chocolate itself - all this is made using cocoa beans. Today we will tell you some interesting facts about chocolate.

Useful not only where born

The birthplace of cocoa tree is South America, but today the leader in the production of cocoa beans is the African country of Côte d'Ivoire, which produces about 40% of the global volume of this raw material.

He is bitter

Despite the fact that we are used to the fact that chocolate is sweet, the word "chocolate" comes from Maya and translates as "bitter water."

Chocolate instead of money

Among the Aztecs, inhabitants of pre-Columbian America, the fruits of cocoa trees were considered gifts of the gods. For this reason, they had a high price and were even cash equivalents.

Service life - 25 years

The cocoa tree can be called a long-liver, because it can grow up to 200 years, but the period of active fruiting and high yields is only 25 years.

A rich palette of tastes and smells

Specialists distinguish up to 300 flavoring varieties of cocoa beans, and also emit about 400 flavors of this amazing product.

Tasty profession

The modern world is impossible to imagine without chocolate. Not a single family holiday or triumph in the work team can do without it. And in order to meet the growing demand for chocolate annually, about 40 million people are involved in the global production of chocolate, from growing trees to packing finished products in chocolate factories.

Eat dark chocolate

The most useful of all types of chocolate, experts call black chocolate, the one that contains the largest amount of cocoa and the least sugar. Milk chocolate is less useful, but white chocolate is essentially not chocolate at all, since it lacks cocoa.

Very good for the heart

Chocolate is good for the heart and for the cardiovascular system as a whole. Scientists have found that people who regularly eat chocolate have a 37% lower risk of heart disease. In addition, eating chocolate helps lower blood pressure.

Unexpected effect

Chocolate contains the amino acid phenylethylamine, which helps cope with a hangover syndrome, and also has the effect of an aphrodisiac.

Mental labor for chocolate lovers

Chocolate is simply necessary for people engaged in mental work. According to numerous studies conducted in different countries, the use of chocolate helps to improve brain function. Dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain, thereby improving memory, visual acuity, and reaction speed.