Chocolate
There is some confusion about the derivation of the word "chocolate." The Merriam Webster Dictionary, and many other sources, state that it comes from the Aztec, or more accurately Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs), word chocolatl. Michael Coe, Professor of Anthropology at Yale, and author of The True History of Chocolate, presents a different view. He argues that the word chocolatl appears in "no truly early source on the Nahuatl language or on Aztec culture." He cites the distinguished Mexican philologist Ignacio Davila Garibi who proposed the idea that the "Spaniards had coined the word by taking the Maya word chocol and then replacing the Maya term for water, haa, with the Aztec one, atl." One other possibility is that chocolate is derived from the Maya verb chokola'j, which means, "to drink chocolate together."The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) is a native of Central and South America. Today, it is cultivated around the equator, and can be found in the Caribbean, Africa, South-East Asia, and even in the South Pacific Islands of Samoa and New Guinea. There are three main varieties of cacao trees. The most common is Forastero, which accounts for nearly 90% of the world's production of ca
In 1900 Queen Victoria sent special made chocolate bars to soldiers fighting in the Boer War as a New Year's greeting. The best cocoa comes from Criollo beans. These used to be the main source of cocoa but they now only represent 4% of world production. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, an amino acid that has aphrodisiac properties and is also good for helping to ease a hangover. Chocolate has been said to cause acne and tooth decay, and has a reputation for being a fattening, nutrition less food. On the other hand, chocolate is also known for being everything from an anti-depressant to an aphrodisiac. While there's still much we don't know about chocolate, recent research is helping us better understand how chocolate consumption affects our health. The good news is that most of the bad effects of eating chocolate are either overstated or entirely false. Eating chocolate neither causes nor aggravates acne. Two studies one by the Pennsylvania School of Medicine and another by the U.S. Naval Academy showed that eating chocolate (or not eating it) did not produce any significant changes in the acne conditions of the study's participants. These results are further backed by research, which shows that acne is not primarily linked to diet. Chocolate also has not been proven to cause cavities or tooth decay. In fact, there are indications that the cocoa butter in the chocolate coats the teeth and may help protect them by preventing plaque from forming. The sugar in chocolate does contribute to cavities, but no more than the sugar in any other food. Obviously, eating too much of any food may caus
Some common words found in the essay are:
California Davis, Naval Academy, Nutritional Chocolate, Americas Columbus, Hernando Cortez, Davila Garibi, Samoa Guinea, Central America, History Chocolate, Criollo Forastero, cacao beans, eating chocolate, fine chocolate, cocoa butter chocolate, recent research, butter chocolate, nahuatl language, tooth decay, cocoa butter, columbus crew, word chocolatl,
Approximate Word count = 1083
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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