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