On Jun 21, 2008, at 12:35 AM, steve wrote:

> I going to qualify my comments that they reflect only the current  
> information I've come across, good or bad.  I find the evidence  
> compelling that cocoa has many health benefits and that it is  
> closely related to a common tree found in Africa and used  
> extensively there, that while some animals find the product  
> unhealthy, man processes it's ingredients easily, as if well  
> adapted to it.
>
> But lets say I'm wrong, what then?  I've found the following  
> questions valuable.
>
> If I'm wrong on (issue X), what's the worst that can happen?
> If I'm right on (issue X), what's the best that can happen?
>
> At this point for me, the best that can happen far outweighs the  
> worst that can happen.
>
> Steve
>

To you it's a fair gamble.  You've certainly got an army behind you  
as any google of the subject will show.  Oprah touts chocolate.  The  
surgeon general says it's good for you.  Numerous studies seem to  
confirm it.

But apply what Cordain calls the "paleo template" -- as none of these  
pundits have -- and the subject becomes more cloudy.  Forgetting  
about its psychotropic and addictive effects for a moment, we know  
for a start that the stuff is a trigger for migranes, asthma, and  
there's no one who denies that if you have IBS you need to avoid it  
altogether.   It personally gives me pause.

Interesting conversation, guys.

Jim