Now, as I was saying, there is a lot of talk about raw chocolate in the raw food world. And I was speculating as to the reason for that. Which is, I have decided, that (a) people aren't that keen on going raw and seek to replace the missing non-healthy food that they claim to have removed from their diet, and (b) that it can be hard to get enough calories on the raw plan so if you can get an extra 500 from somewhere then it makes it easier. Plus if extra calories are coming from a fat-rich source then it gives a full feeling to the eater.
So that's what i think about it, and what's led me to think that is that after my test of raw chocolate, I don't really want to have any more. There is a lot of fat in it (even if some is fat of coconut origin, which, I have heard, is not the same as normal fat, i.e. not bad fat) and I don't feel as good after eating it as I do from nice things like fruit and so on. Also - it is a bit psychoactive. Yes, it has something in it that scientists call theobromine, a word that translates to "food of the gods" ["Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant, found in chocolate, as well as in a number of other foods, including the leaves of the tea plant, and the kola or cola nut. It is in the methylxanthine class of chemical compounds, which also includes the similar compounds theophylline and caffeine"].
Chocolate was used for ceremonial purposes in its early history in Central and South America, during which time it appeared as a bitter drink that sometimes had chilli added. Nearly all religious ceremony is about connecting the living with the non-living in some way, and sometimes that is achieved through dangerous means. But is chocolate dangerous? Well if you have ever been savaged by a dangerous easter bunny then you will know the answer is yes. Plus, we can look up something known as theobromine poisoning, which tells us that, yes, you can die from eating chocolate, if you eat enough of it. The same as coffee, which is poisonous if you ingest enough of it. But strangely popular given that, no?
Anyway, what made me think it wasn't so useful was it gives you strange dreams, so don't have it close to sleeping, unless you are researching the history of Mayan religion.
I think "raw food desserts" are just a way of escaping from something intended to be a healthy diet. Remember when members of most of the world's major religions tried to escape the rules of their own religions? Yes, they said rabbits jump so they are technically birds so they can be eaten at certain times. Well, there are plenty of cases like that.
It just shows you that people like to claim one thing even when their heart is not in it. But they could say "I follow an all-raw diet but I think I will probably eat chocolate and a big pizza every three hours or so", there's nothing wrong with that, especially if it's true. But that's not the way they want to play it.
Meanwhile the weather remains cold here - except for patches of blazing sun which transform all English shops into fiery furnaces and sweat-drenched heat traps as soon as the temperature rises above 15°C. There is still a big problem with flights, which are not allowed to fly (transforming them from flights into...something that does not fly - rabbits maybe? Depending on your religion) because of an Icelandic volcano which has erupted and caused ash to start regular flights instead. And the big problem with that is that we can't get our interesting fruit from Thailand and around there.
Never mind durian, there were no coconuts or anything in Chinatown today! And watermeon in the local shop has suddenly quadrupled in price as the sun has come out. It woudl still be 100% enjoyable, but I am just 75% less likely to buy it...and in fact I DIDN'T.
Labels: belief, fruit, fun, raw, weather
