Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 In my supermarket I found something offerred as a new item, Unsweetened Hershey's Chocolate, intended for baking. For the past several days I have been eating squares of the dark bitter food two or three times a day and experienced relief of some minor back pain, some enhancement of energy, and some lightness in the body generally. Have the Chinese already catalogued Chocolate in the Materia Medica? Carl Ploss Discover Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news and more. Check it out! http://discover./mobile.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 I think you are enjoying the caffeine buzz :-) Cara BTW: unsweetened baking chocolate has been around forever. There are some differences between cocoa and fat content ( thus affecting meltability and overall chocolateliness). Every year or so one of the food magazines- gourmet, for example- rates chocolates. > In my supermarket I found something offerred as a new > item, Unsweetened Hershey's Chocolate, intended for > baking. For the past several days I have been eating > squares of the dark bitter food two or three times a > day and experienced relief of some minor back pain, > some enhancement of energy, and some lightness in the > body generally. > Have the Chinese already catalogued Chocolate in the > Materia Medica? > > Carl Ploss > > > > > Discover > Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news and more. Check it out! > http://discover./mobile.html > > > > > Chinese Herbal Medicine offers various professional services, including board > approved continuing education classes, an annual conference and a free > discussion forum in Chinese Herbal Medicine. > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 , Cara Frank <herbbabe@v...> wrote: > I think you are enjoying the caffeine buzz :-) > Cara > BTW: unsweetened baking chocolate has been around forever. There are some > differences between cocoa and fat content ( thus affecting meltability and > overall chocolateliness). Every year or so one of the food magazines- > gourmet, for example- rates chocolates. Cocoa has found its way into a few TCM dietary texts. They list it as sweet, balanced, and nontoxic, and say that it enters the heart channel. According to one text, it raises the spirit, resolves thirst, and disinhibits urination ( " raising the spirit " - ti shen, is often used to describe the action of stimulants in general speech). Another text indicates it for dizziness due to low blood pressure or low blood sugar, and also says that it can be applied topically to treat mouth ulcers. I doubt that there is much consensus since chocolate is relatively new to Chinese society. Mexican herbal medicine would be a more appropriate place to look for clues. Apparently Monctezuma II drank 50 cups of bitter, concentrated chocolate drinks daily. The Aztec chocolate wasn't sweetened, it was consumed as a bitter drink, often with large amounts of chili and additives such as damiana, mint, and kola nut. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 > > > On Behalf Of Cara Frank > Friday, June 10, 2005 12:27 PM > > Re: cocoa beans > > I think you are enjoying the caffeine buzz :-) [Jason] Although the amount in caffeine in chocolate is somewhat minimal...but if you are overally sensitive this may have an effect... I.e. One would have to eat a whole Bar to equal about 1 cup of green tea (30mg) and 3-5 bars to equal a cup of coffee (90-150mg). But there is theophylline and theobromine in chocolate which is said to relax the smooth muscles... I wonder if it does anything to the skeletal muscles??? Although, in general caffeine is relatively scarce in cocoa, its mainly because of theobromine that cocoa is " stimulating " . Anyway... happy eating... - > Cara > BTW: unsweetened baking chocolate has been around forever. There are some > differences between cocoa and fat content ( thus affecting meltability and > overall chocolateliness). Every year or so one of the food magazines- > gourmet, for example- rates chocolates. > > > > > > In my supermarket I found something offerred as a new > > item, Unsweetened Hershey's Chocolate, intended for > > baking. For the past several days I have been eating > > squares of the dark bitter food two or three times a > > day and experienced relief of some minor back pain, > > some enhancement of energy, and some lightness in the > > body generally. > > Have the Chinese already catalogued Chocolate in the > > Materia Medica? > > > > Carl Ploss > > > > > > > > > > Discover > > Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news and more. Check it out! > > http://discover./mobile.html > > > > > > > > > > Chinese Herbal Medicine offers various professional services, including > board > > approved continuing education classes, an annual conference and a free > > discussion forum in Chinese Herbal Medicine. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 Theobromine- taken from the greek Theobroma, " food of the gods, " was discovered in teapots dating to about 600 BC, attesting to relatively ancient use of cacao. The website of chocolate.org states: " Cacao beans were used by the Aztecs to prepare to a hot, frothy beverage with stimulant and restorative properties. Chocolate itself was reserved for warriors, nobility and priests. The Aztecs esteemed its reputed ability to confer wisdom and vitality. Taken fermented as a drink, chocolate was also used in religious ceremonies. The sacred concoction was associated with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility. Emperor Montezuma allegedly drank 50 goblets a day. Aztec taxation was levied in cacao beans. 100 cacao beans could buy a slave. 12 cacao beans bought the services of courtesan. " Chocolate has a cocktail of interesting chemicals, although virtually none of them are present in sufficient quantities (some are incapable of crossing the blood brain barrier) to account for its perceived effects. It contains anandamide (the endogenous chemical believed to mediate the effects of THC) and contains other chemicals that may inhibit the metabolism of anandamide. It contains phenethylamine (the basic building block of amphetamine, mescaline, MDMA, and many other drugs), yet phenethylamine is rapidly broken down before it can produce psychoactive effects. Phenethylamine was the center of the fruitless search for links with chocolate and love. Chocolate also has low levels of beta-carbolines, some of which are capable of inhibiting monoamineoxidase and thus affecting the metabolism of serotonin as well as many other drugs and foods. Furthermore, it contains tryptophan and is also said to promote endorphin release. But despite containing this sub-threshold-dose soup of drugs and pro-drugs, chocolate has no known potent drug effects other than the anecdotal cravings and ravings of chocoholics. Apparently Casanova was a fan of chocolate as well. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 I seem to recall that there was an allopath study on Dark Chocolate (Dove brand) that rationalized the medicinal benefit cal affects of this type of chocolate - especially for women. Dark being less processed category of Milk Chocolate and also referred to as bitter-sweet. The cocoa from Montezuma days is not the same as what is commonly considered " chocolate " or " cocoa " today as those two terms have been merged quite a bit. Most influence on the cocoa bean has been the Heresy and Nestea companies and of course Coco-Cola which probably resembles Montezuma drink with a super sized sugar charge. I think all the cocoa (and chocolates) have an yang or alkaloid effect. When my first daughter was being born, my sister-in-law, from TianJin, China kept giving my wife large pieces of chocolate. Seemed to help my wife and eased the labor, albeit on a relative scale. dark chocolate (Dove) may have an opium component. Ed Kasper LAc. Licensed Acupuncturist & Herbalist Acupuncture is a jab well done www.HappyHerbalist.com Santa Cruz, CA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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