Americans gleefully gobble down almost three billion pounds of chocolate a year, about 10 to 12 pounds per person.  Okay, some of us scarf down even more.  

The seeds from the pods of the Theobroma cacao tree are the heart of chocolate.  Love that the Greek word for Theobroma translates to Food of the Gods.  Yes, we’re in heaven when munching on fudgy brownies and our favorite candies.

Heads up!  The words cacao and cocoa can cause confusion.  Cacao is the minimally processed seed of the tree that retains more nutrients and antioxidants.  The extra-processed cacao seed is called cocoa.  Lots of chocolate products list cocoa as the ingredient because it’s a word we all recognize.  Heck.  Can’t even figure out how to pronounce cacao…kuh-KOW or kuh-KAY-oh???

The natural plant compound theobromine is the key to the good news about chocolate, specifically dark chocolate, which contains the most theobromine.  Milk chocolate not so much and white chocolate very little since it’s made only with cocoa butter.  One comedian’s routine includes criticizing white chocolate as a prime example of an everyday corporate scam, joking that it is a fraudulent, disgusting impostor because it lacks the core solids found in real chocolate.

Theobromine has been linked positively to biological aging.  Yes!  A recent study indicated that people with higher levels looked better for their age!  Chocolate also delivers minerals like magnesium, iron, and copper tied to cardiovascular and metabolic health connected to how we age.

Some even call cacao a superfood because it contains more antioxidants than blueberries.  Researchers are currently studying whether concentrated doses of another plant compound in cacao, flavanols, which are full of antioxidants, can improve everything from eye disease to heart health, cancer risk, and cognitive abilities.  The powerful antioxidants in dark chocolate help blood vessels function, reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and boost moods and energy.  Sorry, milk chocolate lovers.  

Decades ago, pharmacists and doctors lauded chocolate as a miracle food to cure coughs, hangovers, and indigestion.  Benjamin Franklin thought chocolate might cure smallpox.  Wishful thinking, Ben!

Humans have been consuming chocolate forever.  There is evidence that the Olmec/Mayan people munched on chocolate 5,000 years ago.  They fermented pulp from cacao to create a drink with five percent alcohol.  Not exactly a chocolate martini, but betting it could give a bit of a buzz. 

In 1847, the British company J.S. Fry and Sons added sugar to chocolate and molded the first candy bar.  We get most of our chocolate from candy bars and snacks.  Nutritionists have actually named the “healthiest” candy.  Note the parentheses qualifying the use of the term healthy.  They list Snickers because its peanuts provide protein and the candy has less saturated fats.  Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars are next because of their simple ingredients and fewer additives.

Watching your weight?  A standard chocolate square is roughly 30 calories.  Willing to trade that for half a cup of Brussels sprouts??

Theobroma trees have lots of blossoms, but just 10 to 30 percent will produce a pod that survives to harvest.  A pod contains 20 to 60 beans, but it takes 400 beans to make a pound of chocolate.  It is a tough time for chocoholics.  Prices have spiked because of changing climate patterns and crop disease.  Some candy makers can no longer legally label their products chocolate because of reduced cocoa content to cut costs.  Might want to skip brands using the terms “chocolate-flavored” or “chocolatey.”   

So, our Wrinkled Wisdom for today?  Feeling a little down?  Eat chocolate!  Okay, don’t overdo it!  When serving chocolate desserts to family, brag about the benefits.  Keep chocolate away from pets; it can cause severe sickness.  Enjoy the line from the cartoonist who created the comic strip Peanuts: “All you need is love.  But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”