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Food, Wine and Romance.
Eating is one of our greatest sensory pleasures. Not only does it help us relax and unwind, serve as the center of domestic and social gatherings - it provides the fuel for our bodies.
We can cite medical evidence showing that happy people live longer, therefore, pleasurable experiences from the moderate use of food, wine, coffee, soft drinks and, of course, chocolate can only be beneficial.
To get right down to the science of it with our favorite food, studies have shown that the consumption of chocolate helps make a person more clear-headed and tranquil.
For instance: three standard-size milk chocolate pieces improve clear-headedness by a minimum of 30%.
Researchers have found that chocolate has trace levels of anandamide, ∓ a substance that mildly mimics the effect of marijuana by acting on the same
receptors in the brain.Other substances in chocolate prevent the natural breakdown of anandamide, making the "high" even more effective. The high may not be nearly as intense as that of marijuana, but neither is it as dangerous.
Marvelous and luscious chocolate also improves mood by causing or increasing the release of endorphins, natural opiates in the brain that reduce pain - the same chemicals that are released during exercise and create "runner's high."
AND chocolate increases levels of serotonin, which alleviates depression.
Our final plug for chocoate: it contains significant amounts of phenol, a chemical found in wine, which reduces the risk of heart disease by preventing the formation of plaques in coronary arteries. One-and-a-half ounces of milk chocolate contain as much phenol as a five-ounce glass of red wine. And speaking of science. We all know about the male anatomy and the physiological phenomenon explaining the quickest way to a man's heart (through the stomach - in case you've been living on Pluto for the last twenty years).
And we DO remember the movies "Tom Jones" and "Nine and ? Weeks" and if we don't, we should order them online immediately, watch them and we'll never look at food the same again.
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