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Chocolate, the Aztects and the Theobroma Cacao Tree

Article written by Gloria Cabrera

Like most females, when I hear the word CHOCOLATE mentioned, my ears prick up... and I don’t even need to be hungry. In fact it appears to be an inbuilt mechanism that has an automatic response which seems somewhat uncontrollable. Scary really.  But from what I’ve heard, I’m not alone – there’s a world of chocoholics out there so really, I’m in good company!

So what exactly is chocolate?

Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavors (why not the most popular I reason?).5 It is a common ingredient in many food products from cakes to ice cream, milk shakes, hot chocolate, cookies and pie.5 It’s basically everywhere!

Chocolate is made from the seeds from the fruit of one very special tree - the Theobroma cacao tree (these seeds are often referred to as cocoa beans), a native to South America.4, 5  Being half South American myself, I reason that I’ve got a good excuse for my unrelenting addiction to chocolate – it’s inbuilt within my genes! However I’m sure every other chocolate lover will be able to come up with their own good excuse too.

The word  "chocolate" comes from the Mexican Aztec  word “xocolatl” which combines the words meaning ‘bitter’ and ‘water’.5 Chocolate has a rich history; the Aztecs and Mayans associated chocolate with their fertility gods, the Aztecs even used cocoa beans as a currency and to pay taxes and in European history, it was once an expensive luxury that only the rich or royal family could afford.5

Not only are there many food products made from chocolate, there are many different types of chocolate available including your standard dark, milk and white. These days you don’t just stop at that, no, you can get chocolate at different levels of darkness (e.g. 70% or even 85% cocoa), with nuts, fruit, caramel, wafer and even biscuit in them and as if that wasn’t enough, now I’ve even come across chocolate made into chocolate dessert replicas e.g. chocolate brownie and Crème Brule. The varieties are endless and I secretly wonder what the Aztecs would have thought of today’s chocolate…

So with many different chocolate and chocolate products, there is bound to be at least one variety that tempts. If not, you are an incredibly strong person and my goal is to be just like you!

The Bad and Good news...

Unfortunately, chocolate or cocoa does not usually come on its own... in fact, it’s normally jam packaged with its good friends SUGAR and FAT. Actually sugar and fat really help provide that brilliant flavour and texture we so commonly crave in our chocolate and they tend to be present in increasing quantities especially as the chocolate becomes less dark and bitter, and more indulgent.
So what about some good news? Is there anything good about chocolate or at least cocoa? ‘It comes from a bean and aren’t beans healthy?’ I hear you say. Well the good news is that cocoa is a source of flavonoids.4 Flavonoids are a group of antioxidants, antioxidants being substances that help neutralise free radicals. High amounts of free radicals in the body can aid in damage to the body and the development of several degenerative diseases.1 Consumption of flavonoids have been linked to possible positive benefits when it comes to Coronary Heart Disease.4 Although further research is required, flavanols (a sub group of flavonoids) found in cocoa and chocolate have shown potentially beneficial activities related to heart and blood vessel health.3, 4 Chocolate also contains theobromine and phenethylamine which are substances called alkaloids that may have small positive effects on brain chemicals such as serotonin.5 Now hold on a minute, before you load up your shopping cart with enough chocolate to solely survive on, the possible health benefits of flavonoids found in cocoa does not give you a license to go for your life eating it. Remember that your average chocolate does not come alone. It has its best buddies; sugar and fat along for the ride too. Unfortunately, the amount of flavonoids and alkaloids remaining in your beloved chocolate when you receive it nicely wrapped in colourful packaging can also be quite controversial. In fact although pure cocoa perhaps still in seed form may be a good source of these, the processing that occurs during harvesting and manufacture can unfortunately greatly reduce the amount of flavonoids and alkaloids that arrives to you in the final product.4 The amount and type present in cocoa and chocolate products can vary widely. While solid chocolate products may contain a substantial amount of flavanols and alkaloids, chocolate beverages don’t tend to.4 Often, to make chocolate products taste better, the bitter flavor is removed during processing, the problem with this is that it reduces the flavanol and alkaloid content as these tend to taste bitter, so by improving the flavor we are potentially reducing the health benefits.3 That’s the difference between the Aztec version of chocolate and ours, their’s tended to be bitter and is likely to have retained a greater proportion of the good stuff compared to today’s variety! Dark chocolate products generally contain larger amounts of flavanols and alkaloids than milk chocolate products, so if anything you are better off depending on these for potential health benefits and the darker the better it seems.4

On a practical note

If you are looking at eating chocolate with the hope of gaining some health benefits; consider the differences in cocoa content in the various chocolates available to you. Look for products with at least 70% cocoa solids. Dark and unsweetened chocolate, for example, contain up to 75% cocoa solids (depending on the manufacturer and the manufacturing process) compared with only 20% in milk chocolate.2 Unfortunately although white chocolate may taste great, it’s actually made from cocoa butter and not cocoa beans so sadly you won’t be getting your flavonoids from this little chocky.2

Does this mean you should try and prevent what you know will inevitably happen - eating your favourite yummy white or milk chocolate with the added caramel and biscuit bits for forever? Well, in reality, we all know that while the urge to eat chocolate may be possible to resist for a short period of time, eventually however we are likely to succumb... so moderation is the key. A small amount of chocolate as an occasional indulgence as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle is OK. Yes, I did say it was OK but note the words SMALL and OCCASIONAL. And if you’re feeling brave, why not try the dark 70% plus cocoa solids variety, you never know, you just may find you develop a taste for it.

As for me, I think I’ll go to my local nursery and see if they sell Theobroma cacao trees so I can grow them in my back yard just like the Aztecs did!

References

  1. Deakin University – Better Health Channel, January 2008. Antioxidants [Online]. Available at http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Antioxidants?open [Accessed 17th February 2009]. 
  2. Hart, Jacqueline, March 2006. Viewpoint: Chocolate: Is It Possible That What's Good Is Also Good for You? [Online]. Available at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/527435_print [Accessed 17th February 2009].
  3. Hitti, Miranda, January 2006. Why Cocoa May Help Heart Health [Online]. Available at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/521877 [Accessed 17th February 2009].
  4. Hollenberg, Norman K. et al, 2004, Cocoa, Flavanols and Cardiovascular Risk. Br J Cardiol [Online] 11(5) p. 379-386. Available at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/490533 [Accessed 17th February 2009].
  5. Wikipedia – the Free Encyclopedia, February 2009. Chocolate [Online]. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate [Accessed 17th February 2009].

 

 


Last updated 17 June 2009