Chapter 1: The History Of Chocolate 巧克力的歷史
The Theobroma Cacao tree, to use its scientific name, provides us with one of the world’s most delicious foods—chocolate! Theobroma is a Greek word meaning ‘food of the gods.’ The tree originally comes from the Amazon region of South America. Hand-sized pods that grow on the tree contain cacao seeds—often called ‘cocoa beans.’ These seeds, or beans, are used to make chocolate. The earliest use and consumption of cacao beans dates back to around 1000 B.C. Later, the Mayan and Aztec civilizations consumed cacao as a drink. They often flavored it with ingredients1 such as chili peppers, and other spices. It is believed that drinking cups of chocolate was 可可豆最早的使用追溯在西元前 1000 年左右，後來馬雅和阿茲特 克文明中把食用可可當作一種飲料，他們常常加入一些成份，例如 辣椒粉或其他香料，據相信在馬雅人的儀式裡，例如結婚典禮，喝 杯巧克力是重要的。也相信食用可可對健康有正面的效果。在秘魯 學名是 Theobroma 可可樹，提供了我們世界上最美味可口的食物之 一…巧克力！Theobroma 是一個希臘字意思是「眾神的食物」 。這樹 原產於南美洲的亞馬遜河地區，樹上長著手掌般大的豆莢，豆莢內 含有可可種子，通常稱為可可豆，這些種子或豆被用來製成巧克力。
important in Mayan rituals such as wedding ceremonies. Consuming 據說吃或喝巧克力和辣椒混合的東西，對胃很好。阿茲特克人認為 它可以治療疾病，像是腹瀉，並相信它是一種春藥。據說他們的統 cacao was also believed to have positive effects on health. In Peru, eating or drinking a mixture of chocolate and chili was said to be good 治者蒙哥馬利一天要喝 50 杯。 for the stomach. The Aztecs thought it cured sicknesses such as diarrhea, and believed it was an aphrodisiac. Their ruler, Montezuma, was said to have drunk fifty cups a day! Christopher Columbus, along with Spanish explorers, made his fourth voyage across the Atlantic in the early 1500s, and arrived on the coast of Honduras. It was at this time that he first discovered the value of cocoa beans, which were used as currency in many parts of Central America. 哥倫布〃克里斯多夫跟著西班牙的探險家，早在 1500 多年就完成 第四次跨越大西洋的航行，並到達宏都拉斯的海岸。在這時他第一 次發現可可豆在中美洲的許多地方被當成貨幣來使用的價值。
在第 16 世紀巧克力被另一個探險家 HC 帶回西班牙 西班牙人添加 ， 了一些成份例如糖、香草使它變甜。後來在 17 世紀路易十三和喜 1 ingredients such as sugar and vanilla to make it sweet. It later spread 歡巧克力的西班牙公主結婚後，巧克力傳入法國。受歡迎的巧克力 to France in the seventeenth century after the marriage of Louis XIII to 繼續流傳橫越到更遠的歐洲及美洲。在亞洲，只有在 16 世紀被西 班牙入侵的菲律賓接受它。 the Spanish princess, Anna, who loved chocolate. The popularity of In the sixteenth century, chocolate was taken back to Spain by Hernando Cortez, another explorer. The Spanish people added chocolate continued to spread further across Europe and The Americas. The only Asian country to adopt it at that time though, was the Philippines, which the Spanish invaded in the sixteenth century. As chocolate became more popular, the demand for people to work on the cocoa plantations increased. Slaves were brought to the Americas from Africa to farm the cocoa. Eventually, the cacao tree was taken to 當巧克力變得愈來愈受歡迎，由於人們的需求，可可的農場逐漸增 加，於是奴隸從非洲被帶到美洲來種植可可。最後可可樹被帶回非 洲，並在那兒開始培育耕作。與墨西哥提供 1.5%比較，今天非洲的
農場提供了全世界近 70%的可可。 Africa and cultivation began there. Today, the African plantations provide almost seventy percent of the world’s cacao, compared with one and a half percent from Mexico. 誰會想到巧克力棒會有如此多的歷史呢？ How would have thought that chocolate candy bars had so much history?
Chapter 2: Addicted To Chocolate 對巧克力上癮
How often do you eat chocolate? If you answered ‘every day,’ you may 你常吃巧克力嗎？如果你回答每天，你可能對巧克力上癮了，但這 個癮損害你的健康嗎？ be addicted to chocolate; but is this addiction damaging to your health? 吃太多巧克力常被認為是導致蛀牙、增加體重、頭疼和皮膚問題， Eating too much chocolate is often thought to be the cause of tooth decay, weight gain, headaches, and skin problems such as acne. On the 如粉刺、面皰等的原因。另一方面巧克力被知道可以使人們感到較 快樂。吃巧克力釋放出一種特殊的滋味，給我們一種快樂、正面的 other hand, chocolate is known to make people feel happier. Eating chocolate releases a distinctive flavor that gives us a pleasant, positive 感覺，是什麼引起這種感覺呢？ feeling. What is it that causes this feeling? Chocolate contains over three hundred known chemicals. Like a drug, these chemicals stimulate areas of the brain that enable us to feel pleasure. The most well known chemical is caffeine, which is also found in coffee, tea, and some types of soda. Theobromine, a weak 巧克力包含超過 300 種已知的化學物質，像是一種藥，這些化學物 質刺激腦部的某些地方，使得我們感到很快樂。最著名的化學物質 是咖啡因，那也被發現在咖啡、茶和某些蘇打裡。Theobromine 是
一種微弱的刺激品，用量比咖啡因更高。人們相信在我們吃過巧克 stimulant, is present in higher amounts than caffeine. It is believed that 力後可以體驗到這兩種化學物質的合併引起短暫的興奮。 the combination of these two chemicals causes the temporary ‘lift’ we experience after eating chocolate. However, does eating too much chocolate cause any real health risks? 無論如何，吃太多巧克力對健康有任何真正的健康風險呢？一般人 The popular opinion of chocolate is that it is a fattening food that gives 對於巧克力的看法是─它是種含油脂的食物讓你帶來面皰，而且含 非營養的特質。事實上巧克力的確含有飽和脂肪，這種飽和脂肪增 you spots, and contains no nutritional qualities. The fact is, chocolate does contain saturated fat. This type of fat can contribute to heart disease by increasing levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. On the other hand, scientists at the University of California have discovered that chocolate also contains high levels of chemicals called phenolics, also found in red wine, coffee, and tea. Some phenolics, if consumed in small amounts, are believed to lower the risk of heart disease. 加在血液裡不良的膽固醇含量，助長心臟疾病。另一方面加洲大學 的科學家已經發現巧克力也含有高含量苯酚的化學物質，在紅酒、 咖啡和茶裡也發現含有苯酚。苯酚少量的攝取，據相信是可以降低 心臟疾病的風險。
Evidence that eating chocolate does not cause acne comes from two studies: one at the Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the other by the U.S. Naval Academy. Their research showed some interesting results. They found that there was no difference in the skin condition between the study participants who did, or did not, eat chocolate. There is also no proof that chocolate is the cause tooth decay. In fact, it is believed that the cocoa butter in chocolate forms a coating over teeth that may help to protect them. The sugar in chocolate can cause cavities, but no more than sugar in any other food or drink. Consumption of chocolate around the world now amounts to about 6,000,000 tons a year. That’s equivalent to around 6,000,000,000 kilograms! No one has ever died of eating too much chocolate, so this is one addiction that might be okay to have.