Chocolate, The Little Pleasure That Seduces Our Brain

Legend has it that the cacao tree was the most beautiful in the paradise of the Aztecs  and that it grew naturally in the shade of tropical forests for more than 4,000 years. Chocolate continues to be “the food of the gods” today, a dark, velvety and stimulating pleasure that seduces all our senses.

It should be said that yes, that the  “chocolha” that the Mayans consumed was somewhat more bitter, and that such a gift for the palate was only available to nobles and kings. It was an offering of nature: it provided vigor, longevity, and health. However, part of these attributes were lost at the same moment that, after arriving in Spain, the “chocolha” was adapted to the European palate, adding, of course, sugar.

Chocolate is a pleasure for our brain, there is no doubt, but a fact that we have to take into account is that contrary to what we believed, it does not cure penalties. According to a study carried out at the University of Minnesota, the excess of sugars greatly limits the virtues of cocoa itself, however, it achieves many other aspects that we will reveal to you.

Chocolate, a captivating fragrance

Chocolate has for a large part of the population, an attraction that goes beyond the sensitive to take root in the most emotional foundations of our brain. So much so, that neuromarketing experts recommend that businesses use the aroma of chocolate in their establishments.

• A team of psychologists from the University of Hasselt, in Belgium, showed that something as simple as spraying a mild smell of chocolate every half hour in a book store, increased sales by 20%.

• We have to bear in mind that many stores tend to saturate their customers with visual and auditory stimuli,  to the point that these types of tools are no longer working. .

• It has also been shown that many luxury boutiques have been scenting their spaces with chocolate-scented candles for years. This creates an atmosphere so seductive, subtle and intoxicating that customers spend more time in the store and sales improve considerably.

We must bear in mind that the “courtship” of smell is an infallible tool to trap customers. The reason for this is inscribed in something as simple as it is fascinating: the olfactory pathway and the neural channels that govern our emotions are connected. Chocolate and its fragrance are one of the most powerful triggers in our emotional world.

Chocolate is the main guest of the most pleasant, complicit and intimate moments of our life. For this reason, even the most select palates melt not only when remembering or imagining the nuances of its flavor. In turn, part of that torrent of endorphins with which the brain gratifies us, is due to an association between these happy moments and that flavor that comforts and seduces our senses.

Chocolate, by itself, does not have an adequate nutritional composition to cure pain. .

Impossible to resist the “food of the gods” to that fruit that grew since time immemorial, in the sacred heart of the Mayan and Aztec lands.