CHOCOLATE: DID YOU KNOW? We already know that Chocolate is good for your heart - studies across the world consistently report chocolate's blood thinning properties. We've seen reports that some types of chocolate can aid brain functions and delay ageing. We have even seen one report that says theobromine (a constituent of cocoa) is more effective than codeine at soothing a sore throat and coughing. Now we hear that researchers in Osaka University have discovered that the husks of the cocoa bean contain an antibacterial agent that fights tooth decay and plaque! Isn’t chocolate simply the most perfect food ever? It tastes good, it does you good and it makes you feel great!

CHOCO FUN FACTS

• Monkeys found chocolate first, not people.
• Traces of chocolate have been found in ancient Mayan pottery - from 3,400 years ago!
• The word Chocolate comes from the Aztec words for "Bitter Water"
• Both the Mayans and Aztecs associate chocolate with fertility! What do they know that we don't?
• The first English chocolate house opened in London in 1657, 53 years after the word "Chocolate" was first used in English.
• Chocolate is poisonous to horses, dogs, cats, rodents and parrots - but essential for people!
• 50 million people depend upon cocoa for a living.
• Queen Victoria sent 100,000 boxes of chocolate to soldiers fighting in the Boer War on New Year's Day, 1900.
• The Tropicana casino in Atlantic City sells a super deluxe chocolate brownie - the "Brownie Extraordinaire with Saint Louis" for $1,000!