Itwas usually associated with fat and refined sugar. It also contains caffeine. And it has been blamed for contributing to a variety of problems, from acneto heart disease and from colic to obesity. Much of chocolate's bad reputation is undeserved. The other main nutritional concern with chocolate is its caffeine content.
Caffeine is a powerful stimulant that can cause insomnia, irritability andsometimes anxiety attacks.
However, chocolate and cocoa contain only a smallamount of caffeine. For example, a cup of coffee contains 5 to 10 timesas much caffeine as a cup of cocoa. A person would have to consume 40 cupsof hot chocolate a day to run any real medical risk. Surprisingly, cocoa has actually been used for centuries as an herbal medicine. Central Americans have used cocoa to treat fevers, coughs and discomfortassociated with pregnancy.