Keith Thomas wrote:
> On Thu, 9 Feb 2006 17:14 Adam Sroka wrote:
>
>   
>> Wally Day wrote:
>>     
>>>> Chocolate isn't paleo either, so why the taste for it? 
>>>> Something lacking in the diet?
>>>>         
>>> Why can't it be because "it just tastes good"?
>>>       
>
>   
>> I have heard a number of supposedly scientifically based theories,
>> including that it contains substances that emulate certain hormones and
>> antioxidants similar to those found in berries (I believe that both of
>> these are true, but I'm not sure either explains its almost addictive
>> qualities.)
>>     
>
> Let's nail this once and for all. Very few people like chocolate unless it is mixed with massive 
> quantities of modern, processed foods. Chocolate (that is, cocoa) on its own has very little appeal.
>
> I have had a passing interest in this phenomenon for years and have confronted people who say 
> they like chocolate or are 'addicted to chocolate' (and confirmed with them that they mean cocoa-
> derived confectionary or drinks or flavourings), with the option of satisfying their so called 
> 'addiction' with 100 per cent pure chocolate/cocoa. They are not interested. 
>
> It's my guess that they _like_ the cocoa flavour, but it is the sugar and fat which is added to the 
> cocoa to which they are truly addicted. I know food biochemists and nutritionists will talk about 
> the addictive properties of cocoa. That may be so, but why, then, would not a declared 'chocoholic' 
> have no problems satifying their addiction with pure chocolate?
>
> Just to keep this more or less on topic, I should add that I see the preference for 
> chocolate+fat+sugar+milk mixes as one of the best illustrations of the instincto dietary principle 
> that you should eat each food separately, until you are satisfied. Eat as much pure cocoa as you 
> like? A teaspoon full will be as much an anyone unfamiliar with the food could consume.
>
> So, I can't agree that chocolate qua chocolate (the product of the seeds of the cacao tree) either 
> tastes particularly good or is addictive. It must be processed, diluted and mixed with other 
> products of industrial agriculture before it is generally appealing.
>
> Keith
>   
As a matter of personal preference, I prefer the scientific method to 
the asked-my-friends method. Even though neither is always accurate.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15549276&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11516821&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11407271&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11025151&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10497961&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum