Cocoa and Chocolate
Cocoa and Chocolate are prepared from the cocoa bean.
Cocoa is from the shell of the bean and chocolate from the kernel. As shown by Table [VII], they are more nutritious than the other beverages.
Cocoa butter is the fat of the cocoa bean. It has a pleasant odor and does not easily become rancid. Its nutritive value depends on its fat.
Most of the fat has been removed from the cocoa made for the use of invalids, hence the nutritive value of this cocoa is lessened. The milk and sugar used in its preparation constitute the most of its nourishment; the cocoa simply gives a flavor.
Part of the value of chocolate is in the sugar used with it. If well prepared it is digested with ease and forms a nutritious article of diet. The habit of using large amounts of chocolate in candy, or as a beverage, disorders the system because of the gastric disturbances produced by the excess of sugar.
When food is not easily obtained, compressed cakes of chocolate may be carried, as in traveling, for a temporary food supply.
Chocolate, as sugar, in moderation, constitutes a good food for the growing child.
The active principle in cocoa and chocolate is theobromin and, though milder, is similar to caffein in its stimulating effect on the nervous system.