A study of the history of chocolate begins by going back in time to the realm of the Maya Indians and the Olmec Civilizations of Central America. The word cacao was found in the Olmec vocabulary nearly 3,000 years ago. The hot, humid, but shady climate of the tropical rain forests of this region was perfect for growing cacao plants. The Maya felt the cacao tree was owned by the gods and the pods were offered as a gift from the gods to man. The cacao pod became the symbol of fertility and life in the Mayan culture.Later, in the 18th century, a Swedish botanist named Linnaeus, called the cacao tree theobroma cacao, which means “drink of the gods”. It was the Mayan people that did indeed make a drink from the cacao pods. This drink was considered a “royal” brew enjoyed by the noblemen and kings and was often used in sacred rituals. Hot chili peppers were added to flavor it or maize was often added to change its texture.

In 1502, Columbus, on his 4th and final voyage to the Caribbean, was given a sack of cacao seeds as a form of payment. He was unsure of the worth of the seeds, so the Aztecs made him a drink from the pods to show him its potential. They felt this drink was a source of energy, spiritual wisdom, and enhanced sexual powers. They used it to fortify their warriors when in battle. Although Columbus did not personally care for it, he accepted the seeds in payment, being curious as to its value upon returning to Spain.

Years later, when Cortes arrived in the New World, he noted that the Aztecs used the cacao beans as their treasury and kept huge storehouses of the seeds. Cortes was offered a cacao plantation and a royal welcome from the Aztec ruler Montezuma, when he mistakenly thought Cortes was the reincarnation of a former god and king. This was the beginning of the downfall of the Aztec Empire, but helped Cortes realize that this crop had tremendous potential led him to establish cacao plantations throughout the Caribbean.

When Columbus and Cortes returned to Spain the bitter cacao drink of the Aztec culture was introduced to Europe and there it was sweetened to make it more in tune to the European tastes. It became a drink of the elite and wealthy. Within ten years, chocolate was enjoyed throughout the courts in the French aristocracy. Chocolate became known throughout the countries of Europe and in the middle of the 17th century chocolate appeared in England. There it was highly taxed continuing its reputation as a luxury to be enjoyed only by those privileged enough to afford it.

Cacao was primarily only for drinking until 1828. Chocolate was prepared as a drink by grinding up the beans into a thin paste and adding spices and sweetening and then adding something to soak up the cocoa butter, which would float to the surface.Coenraad J. Van Houten, a Dutch chemist in that year invented a press which would release the cocoa butter from the bean, leaving the dryer cake that could be ground up into a powder similar to the fat-free cocoa powder we enjoy today. Twenty years later European companies used the presses made by Van Houten to produce the first eating chocolate. By taking what was left after separating the cocoa powder from the butter, the industry saw that they could melt the cocoa butter and combine it with a blend of ground cacao beans and sugar, mix this into a paste and mold it. Edible chocolate was the final product. Chocolate appeared on the market in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century and now nearly one hundred years later is still in harmony with all who love it’s unique, rich taste.

A number of studies have been done on the impact of a high blood pressure diet with dark chocolate and the body. It turns out dark chocolate isn’t just a non-impact food for high blood pressure, but seems to actually help lower blood pressure naturally.

The reason dark chocolate gets a space on the list of foods that lower blood pressure naturally is because of the amount of antioxidants that are in the sweet treat. These antioxidants get to work in your body hunting down free radicals, the molecules that are blamed for many heart related illnesses. Antioxidants destroy free radicals.

In studies about using dark chocolate as a way to lower blood pressure naturally two groups of people were told to change out one portion of their diet to add 100 grams of chocolate. One group was given white chocolate. The other group was told to eat dark chocolate. After two weeks, both groups had their blood pressure checked again. Those who had the dark chocolate found their blood pressure drop by a few points on both the diastolic and systolic numbers.

While many think the best way to eat chocolate is with a tall glass of milk, you have to avoid the creamy drink in this case. Those who had milk with their chocolate saw fewer antioxidants at work in their system. So, in order for the dark chocolate to have the best results to lower blood pressure naturally, stay away from milk.

Not just any chocolate will do. Many people think if dark chocolate can be part of their high blood pressure diet, so can other chocolates. Not so. The only chocolate that fits on the foods that lower blood pressure list is dark chocolate. The other chocolates, while tasty, are not going to help lower blood pressure naturally.

Don’t forget to take caloric intake into account. While dark chocolate may have some benefits that allow you to put it on your high blood pressure diet, you can’t put too much of it on plate. One 100-gram dark chocolate bar has over 500 calories. That’s an entire meal for many people. Eating too much chocolate and not compensating for it by cutting other calories out of your diet can cause you to gain weight with is also detrimental to your heart health.