The third week of March is American Chocolate Week - as if chocoholics need a week set aside to celebrate. For those who truly love it, sunrise is a good enough excuse to down some of the heavenly stuff. Addicts reach for it in times of stress and use it as a reward for success and for consolation in disappointment. Almost nothing satisfies like the rich, creamy substance that coats the palate with ecstasy and leaves its victims aching for more. After all, who craves marshmallows, caramel or chewing gum?
"I'll have to go get a candy bar - Snickers is definitely the way to go," she said. Although White admitted she loves chocolate, she said she tries not to eat it more than once a week. But White and other chocolate junkies can indulge with less trepidation now. Recent studies have shown that chocolate has historically gotten a bad rap. It is old news that chocolate does not cause acne, but newer studies also indicate it is the candy least likely to cause tooth decay. In a study conducted at the Eastman Dental Center in Rochester, N.Y., researchers reported the calcium, protein and other minerals in milk chocolate have a protective effect on tooth enamel. Because of its fat content, chocolate also clears the mouth faster than other candies, making it less likely to cause dental caries. Although cocoa contains caffeine, a stimulant, the amount is nominal. A 1.4-ounce milk chocolate bar, or about six Dove chocolate candies, contains about six milligrams of caffeine, the same amount in a cup of decaffeinated coffee. The same size chocolate bar also contains about three grams of protein, seven percent of the daily value for iron, nine percent of calcium and 15 percent of riboflavin. Chocolate bars with nuts have higher nutrient values, especially for protein.
Which of the following prevents heart disease: Wine, chocolate, both. Is that your final answer? Perhaps the best news for chocolate lovers is that chocolate might be heart-healthy. And that's not just because it makes partakers feel as if they are in love. On the heels of a study showing that a small amount of red wine can help prevent heart disease comes a report linking the same benefits to chocolate. Research conducted in 1993 at the University of California, Davis by A.L. Waterhouse suggests that chemicals called phenols or phenolics found in fruit, wine, tea and chocolate help prevent the process that causes plaque to build up on the arterial walls. Results published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, showed that substances in red wine could stop the oxidation of LDL (low density lipoprotein) or "bad cholesterol" in human blood. The UC Davis researchers theorized that these antioxidants could slow the formation of plaque in arteries based on observations of French wine drinkers. They noticed that certain people in France had inexplicably low heart disease and that wine consumption correlated with the lower mortality rates. Today, the theory is widely accepted as a possible explanation for wine's effects. It was previously thought that chocolate significantly increased blood cholesterol. The UC Davis research, along with studies done at the University of Wisconsin and the University of South Florida, suggests that the opposite may be true. That is good news for those who always feared that every bite of chocolate was bringing on an early death. It is true that chocolate contains cocoa butter, a saturated fat that gives the confection its melt-in-your-mouth texture. However, research shows that cocoa butter is used differently in the body than other saturated fats. Because it contains high levels of stearic acid, chocolate may actually help lower the level of cholesterol in blood.
That "something" may be certain chemicals in chocolate that are responsible for drug-induced psychoses associated with chocolate craving. Caffeine is the best known of these chemicals, although it is found only in small quantities in chocolate. Theobromine, another weak stimulant, is also present in slightly higher amounts. The combination of these two chemicals, and possibly others, may provide the "lift" that comes with eating chocolate. Phenylethylamine, also found in chocolate, is related to amphetamines. These strong stimulants increase the activity of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters in parts of the brain that control ability to pay attention and stay alert. Additionally, researchers at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego believe that chocolate may contain substances that have the same effect on the brain as marijuana. Brain cells have receptor sites for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in marijuana. A receptor on a cell can lock onto certain molecules, triggering a reaction inside the cell. The chemical reaction resulting from marijuana use makes a person feel high.
However, when the study citing the neurotransmitter theory made headlines in 1996, representatives of the major chocolate companies took notice. One of the researchers in the study, Daniel Piomelli, said chocolate makers were worried they would have to put a Surgeon General's warning on their products. Their fears were laid to rest, and no warning currently appears on chocolate wrappers. But don't look for chocolate to be regarded as a health food any time soon. Ann VanBeber, chairwoman of the nutrition and dietetics department, said the key to any nutrient is moderation in use. "I have read a lot of articles in women's magazines about the positive effects of phenolics in chocolate and wine, and I believe the reports," she said. "A little a day can help keep your heart healthy. There is a place in the diet for chocolate." However, she stressed that chocolate is still a high-fat food. "You have to look at lifestyle," she said. "If you eat butter, a lot of fried foods and other fats, maybe there isn't room in your diet for chocolate." But American Chocolate Week only comes once a year, so celebrate ... but in moderation.
Jeri Petersen
By Carey Hix Skiff staff As I stepped out into the overcast day, the lump that had been in my stomach for the past week seemed to double in size. The feeling intensified as my friend Abran drove me to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and the sound of thunder echoed around us as lightning struck a glowing path from the sky to the ground directly in front of us. "Oh no!" I thought. "Am I actually supposed to take off in this?" As we approached the airport, the wind and rain began to leak in through the top of Abran's Geo Tracker. I walked into the terminal feeling like I was on my way to the gas chamber instead of Colorado Springs, Colo. I went to check the departure status of my flight, and I was relieved to see that it had been canceled. Most people would be annoyed at such an inconvenience, but I felt like I had been granted a stay of execution. I obviously have a severe fear of flying that I inherited from my father and paternal grandmother. However, I decided a month ago to fight my fear and risk my life to fly to Colorado Springs to get out of Fort Worth for a while and visit my friends there. I took my place at the gate to await my fate and see which flight would take me to my destination. I sat among many disgruntled travelers, most of whom were perturbed that the 10:45 a.m. flight 443 had been canceled. Three young boys from Jacksonville, Fla., with their moms were playing with action figures on skateboards, trying to make the best of the situation.
I had been up all night the night before dancing at the Red Jacket to disc jockey Mark Farina from San Francisco to take my mind off of the stress of flying the next day. I was tired. I had hoped to sleep on the plane, but now I would have to sit and wait at the gate, prolonging my tension. Terminal 35-C was filled with whining kids and cranky parents, and the stench of McDonald's hamburgers and fries permeated the air, as practically every person sitting in the same vicinity as me had apparently stopped at the Golden Arches on the way to the airport. Grease-laden paper bags containing Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets surrounded me from all sides. The same automated voice asking, "May I have your attention please For security reasons, passengers are asked to keep their carry-on baggage with them at all times ," droned on and on like a broken record. My nerves were shot. I decided to have a drink to take the edge off. Four cocktails later, I returned to the terminal to discover that my 2:17 flight had been delayed until 3:35 p.m. Great - an extra hour and 18 minutes to stress. At least I got away from the 42-year-old recovering crackhead from Birmingham, Ala., who was hitting on me at Friday's American Bar. An eternity later, 3:35 rolled around, but flight 819 had not yet landed from Kansas City, Mo. People were really starting to complain. "Gosh Mom, it's going to be dark by the time we get to Breckenridge," one of the boys from Jacksonville whined through his mouthful of Quarter Pounder with Cheese. "Yes, son, it's going to be way dark," replied the mother in her trying-to-be-patient, but-not-quite-capable voice. I needed a change of scenery. I went to speak to Deborah, an attendant at the gate, about the flight from Kansas City. "So, is the plane going to land anytime soon?" I asked her. "Well," she replied, "it's not very realistic, considering it's now scheduled to take off from D/FW at 4:45 p.m., but it's not supposed to land from Kansas City until 4:55." At this I shuddered, as I was beginning to lose patience myself. The storm had ended, and the skies had begun clearing around 2 p.m., so I had been ready to get this flight out of the way for the past hour and a half. About this time, Channel 5 news representatives showed up, as they do every time there's any kind of incident at the airport. The reporter was interviewing a very irate lady at the next gate. "I know it's not the airline's fault about the weather, but they should be doing something to get us out of here to our destinations," she spat into the microphone. "I'm going to lose my job because of you people," she began to scream at the gate attendants. At this point, I had been at the airport (not one of my favorite places, mind you) for about seven hours. I started to think that maybe Fort Worth wasn't the worst place to spend my Spring Break. I hesitantly approached the insanely long line at the gate again, and after standing in it for about 30 minutes, I asked Deborah if there was any way I could get a refund on my ticket. "You're the smartest person I've talked to all day," she replied. "I'll issue an authorization for your refund. We don't have any cash at our registers, but you can get some from one of our city offices." I asked about my luggage, which had apparently disappeared into some black hole or vortex at the airport after I checked it at 9 that morning. "Oh, the airline will have that delivered to you," Deborah replied reassuringly. "It may have already been sent to Colorado." "Sounds good to me," I said as I grabbed my authorization notice and ran to the pay phone to stand in line once again to call my mother to come and rescue me. Five days and about 50 phone calls later, I drove in the rain to D/FW. It felt like déjà vu as I grabbed my parking ticket from the concrete booth and drove to terminal C. Apparently, Deborah had confused the phrase, "Oh, the airline will have that delivered to you" with "You will have to drive 35 miles in the rain to the airport to pick up your luggage that was sent to Denver the following Friday and will take about a week to return to D/FW." I was told my bags would be waiting for me at baggage check C-12. I parked illegally in the garage near gate C-6 and walked to the baggage claim only to find that my luggage was, in fact, all the way at the end of the terminal in baggage claim C-31. I ran to retrieve it and finally got both 80-pound bags from the solemn attendant, who, when asked why it took five days to get the luggage back to D/FW and why it wasn't delivered to my home as I was told by good old Deborah, replied helpfully, "You can contact consumer affairs, but there's really nothing they can do." As I walked the half mile back to C-6, I had to set my bags down about 20 times to try to carry them in a more comfortable, less back-breaking manner. Nothing worked. Finally, I found my car, got in and drove away from the chaos and incompetence of the airport. I hope my luggage had a good time in Colorado. I know I didn't, but looking on the bright side of things, at least I'm still alive.
Carey Hix |
Senior photography student Molly White said she didn't know this was
American Chocolate Week, but she will definitely celebrate.
Even when people believed eating chocolate was hazardous
to health, they didn't necessarily stop or cut back. There is just something
about chocolate that makes it hard to abandon.
Although chocolate doesn't contain THC, a similar neurotransmitter,
anandamine, has been isolated in chocolate. The researchers emphasized
that eating chocolate won't make a person high, but compounds in chocolate
may be associated with the good feeling that comes with chocolate consumption.
I settled in my chair to wait out the estimated four hours
before my rescheduled 2:17 p.m. flight would depart.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |