Mysteries ofChocolate
Neuroscience for Kids Staff Writer
Chocolate History
More than 3000 years ago, the Mayans and Aztecs of the Americasconsumedchocolate. These people drank cacao, or the chocolate bean, which wasground into hot water, like the hot chocolate we drink today. However,their cacao was rather bitter and had chilies in it. For those of us whohoard our chocolate candies, it is easy to understand why the Mayans andAztecs used cacao beans as currency. Imagine using M&Ms instead of coins!
How did chocolate spread around the world? In 1502, on his fourth and lastvoyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus came upon a canoe that wastransporting agricultural products, including cacao beans. He seized thecontents of the canoe and brought cacao back to Spain. Chocolate did notbecome popular for many years in Europe, but decades later, the Spaniardsadded sugar to the cacao, and the rest, as they say, is history. Chocolatesoon became the preferred drink of the royal courts in Europe. The beliefwas that chocolate could cure any illness.
Haveyou ever seen a cacao bean, (or, as it is more commonly known, acocoa bean)? These beans grow on a tree called Cacao theobroma.The cacao tree is pollinated by insects called midges and by bats and isgrown only within 10-20 degrees latitude of the Equator. Theseregions include West Africa, Central America, parts of South America, andthe Caribbean Islands. The beans, which grow in the fruit pods of thetree, are generally harvested twice a year. Each pod is about the size ofa hand and contains 20-50 beans. The pods turn bright yellow, orange, orred when ripe. The beans are dried, and then the center part is removed byhand and allowed to ferment. After the beans dry again, they are sold.The chocolate manufacturer must separate the beans from any debris, removethe hard outer shell, and grind the center part of the bean.
Chocolate candy bars, after-dinner mints, brownies, truffles, doughnuts,chocolate milk-if it has chocolate in it, we eat it. Hot, cold, solid,liquid, over ice cream...even over meat?! Yes, a Mexican sauce called"mole" uses unsweetened chocolate in a sauce that is served over meat. It's a versatile flavor, chocolate. Chocolate has been blamed for acneand tooth decay, but research has found that it is innocent of theseevils. That must have made lots of people worldwide sigh in relief: thechocolate industry sells five billion dollars worth of chocolate each yearin the U.S. alone. The U.S. is only the eighth largest consumer ofchocolate. Switzerland, whose citizens eat more than 21 pounds per personeach year, leads the world in chocolate consumption.
else will do. There's evena name for someone who craves chocolate: a chocoholic. It's almost anuncontrollable urge. 
Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine, a chemical related toamphetamines. Like amphetamines, this chemical causes blood pressure andblood-sugar levels to rise, resulting in a feeling of alertness andcontentment. Phenylethylamine has been called the "love-drug" because itquickens your pulse, as if you are in love. Caffeine in chocolate mayalso cause feelings of alertness and a pounding heart. Other stimulants inchocolate include theobromine and methylxanthines. Thesecaffeine-relatives are weaker than caffeine-you'd have to eat more than 12Hershey bars to get as much caffeine as there is in one cup of coffee. Allof these stimulants increase the activity of neurotransmitters in thebrain. 
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