I hear what you're saying about being overly strict about paleo. I have my Pinot Noir and don't give a rats patoot that it's not paleo. But I'm not so naive as to think that there are not consequences to this choice to deviate from a natural diet.
I get tired of hearing that so in so is the new miracle food. The "science" of nutrition, as Taubes so ably puts it, is confused. Today's panacea is tomorrow's pandemic. So what's our guide? What our ancestors consumed for millenia. Deviate from that at your own risk.
Chocolate/cocoa is a highly processed food/drug that has been consumed for a very short period of time by humans. It would only have been available to at most a tiny, tiny percentage of humans and not nearly long enough for adaptation. It has psychotropic effects and stimilates both cannaboid and opioid receptors. And in a few years we're going to really wonder why in the heck we were stupid enough to recommend that everyone and his dog (well, not dogs) consume the stuff.
Jim Swayze
www.fireholecanyon.com