Chocolate is a preparation of roasted and ground cacao seed made in different forms. Most of the Mesoamerican people made chocolate drinks, including the Aztecs. Most of the chocolate people use today is sweet chocolate, a mixture of cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar.
Chocolate is one of the most famous foods in the globe. There are also a lot of foodstuffs that have chocolate. Most of the candies that children love have sweetened chocolate in them. People eat chocolate bars made of solid chocolate as snacks.
In western countries, it is their culture to exchange gifts of chocolate on holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Valentine’s Day.
What the Indigenous Aztec People Believed About Cocoa
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican tradition that prospered in Mexico in the post-classic era. They took cocoa as a beverage and believed that it was a great medicine as they had a conviction that it was a present from Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec god of wisdom and wind. The reason for any advantage is because of the high concentration of polyphenols in the natural cocoa.
Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds in fruit and vegetables that defend the human body from free radicals.
The History
Records say that Hernan Cortes, a Spanish soldier, may be accountable for incorporating cocoa into the European region. In 1518, the soldier reached in Mexico and went to the capital of Aztec. During his stay in the area, the Spaniards had a taste of chikolatl. The beverage had roasted cocoa beans that people crushed and boiled in water with spices.
The 1st revelation of the beverage wasn’t a good encounter for the Spaniards. However, the soldier saw Montezuma 2, king of the Aztecs, take the beverage more than 45 times daily. This sparked an interest in the soldier and strived to return it to Spain.
In the 19th century, Joseph Fry and Sons created the ever 1st chocolate bar.
Change from Bean to Bar
The cocoa beans in their natural state have a high level of antioxidant mixes. The procedures in changing beans into a bar lessen cocoa’s flavanol amount, reducing the antioxidant characteristics of cocoa. According to studies, cocoa powder in its natural state has about ten times more flavanol than cocoa that has undergone the procedure.
Research says that dark chocolate has a larger concentration of flavanols than milk chocolate.
Health Advantages
Dark chocolate and products of cocoa having over 150mg of cocoa flavanol can enhance blood vessels’ elasticity that aids with the flow of blood. Regular consumption of cocoa flavanols also enhances the ability of blood vessels to expand that aids the body control the pressure of the blood.
Cocoa flavanols improve the flow of blood to the brain, which may enhance cognitive functioning. Besides, they may aid in lessening cognitive decrease. Cognitive relates to cognition, which means the mental process of obtaining knowledge and comprehending through thoughts and the senses. During a muscle recovery process, the cocoa flavanols may help an athlete feel better.
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