Now chocolates can do more for you than just leave a divine taste in your mouth. By Gita Chandra

CHOCOLATE is one of the most luxurious, indulgent foods. We gorge on it for comfort, energy and passion. We present it to friends, families and lovers as a greeting or farewell, to say thank you or sorry, as a decla-ration of love, during celebrations, or as solace. Now experts say that making chocolate has therapeutic powers too. Surprised! Well so was I, until I met some chocolate-lovers who were healed by a sweet pill called chocomysin. The purpose of any therapy is to heal, heighten awareness and clear blocks that come in the way of mind-body-spirit unity. And if the catalyst is sinful, sensuous chocolate with its wonderful healing abilities, it‘s even better.

Benefits Of Chocology
Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a feel-good chemical often associated with the feeling of being in love. Research has proven that chocolate connects us to feelings of heightened pleasure. In fact chocolate is nature’s Prozac, a wonderful natural anti-depressant. It’s known to contain alkaloids like theobromine which stimulates the kidneys as a mild diuretic. Chocolate also works like caffeine on the central nervous system.

Cures Of Cocoa
The therapy of chocolates has two distinct aspects — the first, of course, is the fact that we enjoy eating chocolates. When we think of it, we think of pleasure and indulgence. The other aspect is the sense of well-being generated when we make our own chocolate.

Therapy is not necessarily restricted to dreary sessions with a counsellor. With most of us needing and seeking clarity in life on an ongoing basis, therapy has graduated to becoming an activity, which means spending hours doing what we love, enjoy and relax with. Making chocolates is a pleasurable and somewhat hedonistic exercise that springboards an appeal to start the journey of self-discovery. Inspiring examples of this were brought out in films like ‘Chocolat’ and ‘Like Water For Chocolate’ in which the pagan passion of sinful chocolate leads people onto a journey of self-awareness.

Choco Dreams
“Working with our hands, feeling, creating and moulding generates a feeling of well being,” explains Nita Garg, a practising therapist.

The process of making chocolates is quite easy. It involves a series of simple steps like melting chocolate, mixing, choosing the centres, allowing them to set, and finally packing them attractively. The entire process integrates the senses of touch, taste and smell. “It makes me so happy to see my students being creative and productive and at same time enjoying themselves,” says Anjali Chopra who has been teaching the art of making chocolates for over a decade now. Priya and Nachiketa, both students at Anjali’s workshop, say in unison: “The entire process of melting, pouring and setting the centres for chocolates was so thrilling. We felt great that we were making something delicious for our loved ones with our own hands.”

Shares another student Shonali, who now makes chocolates commercialy: “I was very depressed about being away from my husband who is posted far away on work. After taking these classes, I was able to transform my blues and get out of the rut of negative thoughts. Now I see it as an activity that I love doing, and something from which I can make some moolah too.”
As the avenues of this therapy slowly expand, make them your allies to generate a joyous feeling of well being using your sense of touch, taste, smell and creative expression.


Exploring Chocolates
Murray Langham, author of ‘Chocolate Therapy: Dare to Discover Your Inner Center!’, says that the shape and centre of the chocolate we choose to eat reveals a lot about our personalities.
People who are stressed generally choose square pieces.
People who like chocolates with orange centres have a caring attitude and an open mind.
People who like strawberry-flavoured chocs like to know they are needed.
People who like hazelnut chocolates are in tune with nature.



Chocolate Myths Busted!
Claims that eating chocolate is bad for you are certainly based on the excess sugar and added vegetable fat in poor grade, mass-produced chocolate. Quality chocolates contain pure cocoa butter with no added fat, as well as a high percentage of cocoa solids and correspondingly less sugar. Here, we tell you why eating chocolate is not the start of all that is evil in your diet.

Obesity: Good quality plain chocolate is unlikely to be the cause of obesity because it contains far less sugar than junk chocolate.

Acne: American surveys show no correlation between chocolate consumption and acne in teenagers. Likely culprits are hormonal imbalances and a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet.

Tooth decay: Chocolate melts in the mouth and is therefore in contact with the teeth for a relatively short time. While the sugar content will contribute to tooth decay, the risk is far less than that associated with sticky sweets, which remain in the mouth longer.
Source: www.gourmed.gr

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