health and wellness

Healthy Chocolate?!

By Riva Preil

Fortunately for all of us- Yes, it’s true! Unknown to most people, chocolate originated as a life-giving and energy-providing beverage. More than 2,000 years ago, the Olmec, Mayan, Aztec, and other Mesoamerican cultures consumed cocoa in the form of a healthy beverage eventually known by the Aztecan word xocolat, which means “bitter water.†Cacao bean paste was mixed with water, chile peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients and delivered a frothy, spicy “chocolate†drink. All of the Mesoamerican cultures recognized early on that the cacao bean could provide a super-charged level of energy and nutrition unrivaled by any other source.

Soon enough, chocolate made its way to Europe and beyond, where it became an international hit and enjoyed a transformation from a spicy beverage to various sweetened concoctions. Eventually, chocolate grew in popularity in the United States around the turn of the 20th century, and it was in the United States that the first solid chocolate was developed.

To Be Continued…

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