Chocolate, Heels and Handbags

I'm not going to write this blog and tell you all about different kinds of chocolate, the health benefits of chocolate or give you recipes containing chocolate. This blog is for all those women, (sorry guys, you'll have to do your own blog), who adore chocolate in any shape, size, color or form. Who love chocolate so much that any mishap in your day can easily be forgotten and any catastrophe can at least be smoothed a little. Now, add a great pair of heels, (or 2 or 4 or 6) and you're getting closer to the edge. Now if you have a great shopping day and can also add a handbag that you've been watching for a few weeks that finally went on sale, well...we're getting pretty damned close to the best substitute for ANY man ANY day.

Chocolate Myths

Myth: Chocolate and other sweets are a major cause of tooth decay.

Truth: Tooth decay is primarily the result of poor oral hygiene. Cavities are caused by any foods containing fermentable carbohydrates that are left on the teeth for too long. In fact, there are ingredients found in chocolate products that may retard the tooth decaying process.

Myth: Chocolate is high in caffeine.

Truth: The amount of caffeine in a piece of chocolate candy is significantly lower than that in coffee, tea or cola drinks. For instance, a 5 oz cup of instant coffee has between 40 and 108 mg of caffeine, while a 1 oz milk chocolate bar contains only 6 mg and many confectionery items have no caffeine at all.

Myth: Chocolate has a high fat content and will lead to weight gain.

Truth: Candy, in moderation, can be part of low-fat eating. In fact, an occasional sweet treat helps you stick to a healthy eating plan. (ANYthing in moderation, right?)

Myth: Chocolate causes acne.

Over the past two decades, clinical studies have exonerated chocolate as a cause or exacerbating factor in the development or persistence of acne. In fact, many dermatologists doubt that diet plays any significant role in acne. (But let me drink a can of soda and BAM! -zit.)

Myth: I'm allergic to chocolate.

It is possible for a person to be allergic to any food, including chocolate. But recent evidence suggests that allergy to chocolate may be relatively rare. The actual incidence of allergic sensitivity to chocolate is far less common than positive reactions to skin scratch tests would seem to indicate. In at least one double-blind study to determine the correlation positive skin tests for chocolate allergy and the manifestation of clinically observable symptoms, researchers could find only one patient out of a possible 500 who showed both a positive response to the skin test and an objective clinical reaction after eating chocolate.

And that's all the facts you'll see here. Just a little info to get started, just in case you've been afraid to eat it, have stayed away from it because of your diet or won't let your kids eat it (but I wouldn't do that, because there won't be enough for you!), or didn't want a zit for that special date...Just Do It!


Here are a few more facts and FYI's.

Did you know that you would have to eat more then a dozen chocolate bars to get the same amount of caffeine from a cup of coffee? There are about 5 - 10 mg's of caffeine in one ounce of bitter chocolate, 5 mgs in milk chocolate, and 10mgs in a six-ounce cup of cocoa.

Chocolate is actually a valuable energy source. A single chocolate chip can provide enough energy for an adult human to walk 150 ft.

Chocolate has great health benefits. It helps with depression, high blood pressure, Tumors and PMS.

One ounce of baking chocolate or cocoa contains 10% of the daily recommended intake of iron.

Chocolate can be deadly for dogs. Chocolate contains an ingredient called "Theobromine" which can be toxic to a dogs central nervous system and cardiac muscles. (I truly think this is a myth, because I have 3 dogs, 12, 5 and 2 and they eat chocolate, always have and they are fine)

People spend more than $7 billion dollars a year on chocolate.

The per capita consumption of chocolate indicates that each person consumes 12 pounds of chocolate each year. (I think it's more!)

Milk Chocolate is the most preferred type of chocolate, however dark chocolate is especially popular among men.
In Alfred Hitchcock's movie "Psycho" chocolate syrup was used to indicate blood in the famous shower scene.

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