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Research teams hailing from various countries, such as Switzerland, have concluded that chocolate may aid in the prevention of diseases that are known to attack the heart. Through numerous studies, it has been stated that the best kind of chocolate to ingest for your health is the dark bitter variety. A group of Swiss researchers implied that eating this type of chocolate on an everyday basis is most beneficial.

Conclusions were made regarding the health benefits of chocolate after conducting a series of tests on a group of about 30 volunteers. The test group consisted of people who smoked, but did not appear to have any health ailments to deal with. The test subjects had to abide by a few guidelines in order for researchers to obtain the results they needed.

For starters, the volunteers were not allowed to eat any foods that contained any antioxidants. Some of these edible items included cabbage, onions and apples. This was a requirement to be followed after they were given doses of different kinds of chocolate. About 40 grams of the sweet stuff was given to them.

After two hours passed from the consumption of the chocolate, the findings appeared on an echograph. One of the points that were revealed involved the consumption of dark chocolate, which consist of at least 75% cocoa. The echograph showed that the test subjects enjoyed an improvement with the flow of their blood. Additional tests revealed that a decrease in blood incidents, as well as blockages was seen from the initial observations. The risk for these occurrences had significantly decreased. It was also shown that white chocolate did not possess the same characteristics or results as darker versions.

This is probably because dark chocolate has a high level of antioxidants per one gram of substance. These levels are higher that other popular food items, including green tea, some fruits and red wine.

There is no doubt about the amount of helpful and healthy antioxidants contained within a piece of chocolate. The reason that it is often viewed as an undesirable food item is due to the large amounts of fats that chocolate possesses. The levels of glucose are also seen as an unhealthy characteristic. If this type of sweet is consumed at a high rate, numerous other problems may arise, including obesity and diabetes.

If you are interested in the incorporation of chocolate into your daily diet to accompany your efforts towards a healthier lifestyle, keep in mind that moderation is the key. You should focus on fixing the amount of chocolate you consume to match your weight and how much exercise you complete throughout the day. If you are a person that is constantly on the move, then consuming chocolate shouldn't pose any threat of weight gain. For those who are confined to working in an office all day or spend most of their time in a chair, you may face a brick wall. Without much exercise or participation in sports, you run the risk of adding a few extra pounds to your frame with increased amounts of chocolate consumption.

If you're a fan of chocolate you're in good company. Chocolate is one of the most popular sweet-tasting treats in the world and has been for centuries. But part of the myth surrounding chocolate is that it tastes so good it must be bad for your health. Which gives it an air of the forbidden.

A beautifully wrapped box of chocolates has always been considered a very romantic gift. So if the special person in your life is a self-confessed chocoholic, you know one surefire way to please them on special occasions. But the surprising news from the scientific community is that this reputedly decadent treat actually has some health benefits, especially if you choose your chocolate wisely.

Is Chocolate A Health Food?

Chocolate contains over 300 chemicals, and has been the subject of a number of studies by universities and other scientific organizations. Here's a quick rundown of the results. We have no way of proving or disproving these claims so we offer them here as a stimulus for further research. If you're really interested in the subject, this may provide you with a starting point.

* Cacao, the source of chocolate, contains antibacterial agents that fight tooth decay. Of course, this is counteracted by the high sugar content of milk chocolate.

* The smell of chocolate may increase theta brain waves, resulting in relaxation.

* Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine, a mild mood elevator.

* The cocoa butter in chocolate contains oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated fat which may raise good cholesterol.

* Drinking a cup of hot chocolate before meals may actually diminish appetite.

* Men who eat chocolate live a year longer than those who don't.

* The flavanoids in chocolate may help keep blood vessels elastic.

* Chocolate increases antioxidant levels in the blood.

* Mexican healers use chocolate to treat bronchitis and insect bites.

* The carbohydrates in chocolate raise serotonin levels in the brain, resulting in a sense of well-being.

What Chocolate Won't Do

There are many myths and half-truths about the effects of chocolate on the human body. Here are the latest findings on several of them.

* Studies show that chocolate is not a causative factor in acne.

* Cacao contains the stimulants caffeine and bromine, but in such small quantities that they don't cause nervous excitability.

* Chocolate is not addictive.

* Chocolate contains stearic acid, a neutral fat which doesn't raise bad cholesterol.

* Chocolate doesn't make you 'high'. You'd need to eat a huge quantity (about 25lbs at one sitting) to feel any noticeable effect.

But On The Negative Side...

1. Chocolate may trigger headaches in migraine sufferers.

2. Milk chocolate is high in calories, saturated fat and sugar.

What About Chocolate And Your Pets?

Chocolate is considered dangerous to animals because it contains a stimulant called theobromine, which they can't digest.

Dark chocolate and baking chocolate are even more dangerous because they contain higher concentrations of the substance. This applies whether chocolate is in candy bar form, or an ingredient in cake, cookies, puddings or ice cream.

If a pet becomes ill after eating chocolate, take it to the vet immediately.

Dark Chocolate Versus Milk Chocolate

Dark chocolate contains more cacao and less sugar than milk chocolate. It follows that any health benefits would be more pronounced in dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate is allowed on the popular Montaignac diet while milk chocolate is not.

You'll need to do a little research if you have any health concerns about eating chocolate. But with products like gluten-free and sugar-free brands finding their way onto supermarket shelves, you're sure to find some form of chocolate you can enjoy with a clear conscience.

? Marguerite Bonneville is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) whose passion is publishing information online. She is a contributing writer for http://www.romantic-gift-ideas-online.com, a resource site dedicated to helping visitors find the perfect romantic gift.

Chocolate has long been given as a gift, particularly as a gift of affection or passion.

The forerunner to chocolate was the Aztec drink xocoatl, a mix of water, spices and ground cacao beans. Aztecs used the beans as a form of currency and for payment of tribute to their kings. An Indian Chief is said to have made a gift of a basket of cocoa beans to Christopher Columbus, although Columbus did not know what to do with the beans. Later, The Aztec King Montezuma presented Cortez and his conquistadors with gifts of cocoa beans. It is recorded that the Aztecs favored the beans above gold.

In 1615 Spanish Princess Anna of Austria gave to her new husband, King Louis XIII, a gift of chocolate. The drink became fashionable within Louis’ court and it quickly spread to Italy and later to Austria.

Casanova believed in the aphrodisial qualities of chocolate and often plied his romantic interests with gifts of chocolate.

Cadbury introduced the first chocolate box in 1765 when cocoa beans were brought to Dorchester, Massachusetts from the West Indies. Boxed chocolates have been given as gifts ever since.

In 1835 the master pastry chef to Emperor Franz Joseph make a gift of the first Imperial Torte, a five-layered chocolate cake with five layers of almond paste, to the Empress.

Queen Victoria made a New Years gift of specially molded chocolates to the British troops fighting the Boer War in South Africa in 1900.

During World War II American soldiers became well known to European children as gift bearers of 4-ounce chocolate bars.

Modern chocolatiers produce the finest gourmet and hand-made chocolates in history, many elegantly boxed for gift giving.

Want to learn more about the fascinating history of chocolate? Visit us at: http://www.chocolate-gourmet-gifts.com

George Murray is the President of Centric Promotions, Inc. Learn more about the fascinating history of chocolate and view an assortment of luxury chocolates presented in beautiful gift boxes by visiting us at: http://www.chocolate-gourmet-gifts.com

Men like chocolate not less, than women do, they just feel shy to admit it. Invite your loved one for a “chocolate supper” that you cooked by yourself – and you’ll see what a chic sequel you’ll get. Your lips and hands will smell sweet like chocolate, exciting not only physical passion, but also tenderness, caress, trust – all that things that we associate with love.

Chocolate truffles
10 steps for culinary orgasm

For 40 chocolate you’ll need…
For chocolate: 200 ml of 35% cream; 300 g of brown chocolate (70% is preferable).
For coating: 250 g of white chocolate and 50 g of high-quality cocoa powder without sugar.

Cooking
1. Fill in a pannikin with cream, heat slowly till boiling point, but don’t boil. Remove from cooker and leave for 5 minutes.
2. While cream is cooling, break brown chocolate to pieces and put in a deep bowl. If you want, you may add 3 table-spoons of orange liqueur or cognac in chocolate. Pour chocolate with hot cream.
3. Shuffle contents with a fork to receive homogeneous mass. It’s very important not to whip chocolate, then you won’t cook truffles. Allow medley to cool down a little, but it should still be liquid.
4. Take wooden spoon and pound a warm mass until it becomes lighter.
5. Cover a wooden plate with a baking-paper. Oil paper with olive or butter, to prevent chocolate from adhesion. Then put a chocolate mass on paper in small groups about 1 cm in diameter using a tea-spoon moistened in water.
6. Put chocolate in fridge to harden.
7. Put white chocolate broken to pieces in a small heat-resistant bowl. Put this bowl in a pannikin with water, the way it wouldn’t touch its bottom. Put on a cooker on a small fire – water shouldn’t boil! Wait, stirring slowly, until chocolate melts.
8. Pour out cocoa powder on a saucer.
9. Take chocolate from fridge. Put every harden chocolate on a fork and plunge in hot white chocolate. If chocolate were cold enough, coating cools down immediately inside, and saves softness on the outside.
10. Roll chocolate in cocoa powder and put on a plate again. Put in fridge. Keep completely harden truffles in a box in fridge. Attention! Don’t serve up truffles or chocolate just taken out of fridge – they will be insipid. Sweets should warm till room temperature during not less than 30 minutes.
Freedom for your creative work
You can add 4 table-spoons of pounded hazelnuts, almond, prunes or dried apricots in warm chocolate mass instead of alcohol.
Do you want something piquant? Risk to flip 2 dashes of crushed (not ground) pepper or a dash of piquant red pepper to a chocolate mass. 3-4 table-spoons of fruit-drops stuck into small particles will add unusual taste to chocolate.
You’ll receive absolutely peculiar delicacy, if you add caramelized hazelnuts into half-cooled medley for truffles.
If you melt the same quantity of brown chocolate for coating, instead of white, add 5 table-spoons of crushed hazelnuts or walnuts and plunge candies in it, you’ll receive chocolate “hedgehogs” in a nutshell.
And at last, try to roll truffles covered with white chocolate in caramelized hazelnuts instead of cocoa powder.

Our advices
You need to buy high-quality chocolate for melting, which contains not less than 55% of natural cocoa. You’ll receive a milky taste of chocolate, if you add more cream to a mixture, 1 table-spoon of butter will add softness to a filling.
Chocolate shouldn’t be melted on open fire, as it will be burnt.
Crockery, in which you’re going to melt chocolate, should be wiped dry. Water should not come in chocolate during cooking, otherwise, chocolate will curdle and become clumpy and heterogeneous.
If you want to increase love magic of your delicacy, form candies with wet fingers – allow them to absorb as much of your personal energy as they can. Women eat chocolate to feel joy, men – to prolong it.

Why you need to cook chocolate for him by yourself
Because when we cook food for other person, we pass him our feelings too. If you think positively, wish good for your loved one, dream about his closeness – he’ll understand this, tasting the delicacy you cooked for him. Dishes, cooked for pleasure, not to satisfy one's hunger, give especially strong effect. Dishes, which you put into your loved one’s mouth with your fingers… For example, chocolate truffles.

What to serve up with chocolate truffles
Chocolate truffles harmonize with black or red tea without sugar and rather don’t harmonize with green and fruit tea. You may dilute tea with milk or cream.
A perfect match – is a chocolate and a cup of black strong coffee. Tender and pleasant combination – is chocolate and coffee latte (half of cup – black coffee, another half – hot milk).
You’ll receive pleasure from a half-forgotten tandem: chocolate candies and hot, but not boiled, milk with a dash of cinnamon and a tea-spoon of brown sugar. By the way, chocolate with fruit-drop bits inside harmonizes with milk very well.

Chocolate- nut pudding
If you are short of time: To cook this charming dessert, you’ll need to grind 50 g of almond in powder in a coffee-grinder.
Whip 200 ml of cooled 35% cream till sour cream consistence by a mixer in a deep bowl.
Add 3 table-spoons of cocoa powder in cream, then ground nuts, 2 table-spoons of powdered sugar, a small pack of cream fixing agent, 2 table-spoons of cognac, rum or brandy and whim it for a minute more to receive thick, like butter, homogeneous chocolate mass.
Put a dessert in a small bowl, cool it down and serve up with whipped 35% cream, seasoned with a small pack of vanilla sugar.

Yana Mikheeva is the creator of the WomansPassions site for women and about women at http://www.womanspassions.com, it is an on-line resource for women and about women. Here you can find articles on various subjects, such as: diets, receipts, health, cellulite, figure, aromatherapy, wholesome food, psychology of relationships, pregnancy, parenting, fashion and many others. She also has a blog for women at http://www.womanspassions.com/blog.