Health effects of chocolate no medical or regulatory authority has approved any health claim. "Theobroma cacao", the cacao tree, produces seeds containing flavanols. The seeds have been used to make beverages for some 2000 years in Aztec, Olmec, and Maya civilizations in central and south America. The drinks were ascribed a wide variety of curative and stimulant properties, unsupported by experimental evidence. In the 19th century, chocolate as a solid was invented, and milk and sugar were added to create milk chocolate, high in fat and sugar. Doubtful research, sometimes funded by the chocolate industry, has at times made suggestions of possible health benefits
Maria Cacao Maria Cacao Maria Cacao is the "diwata" or mountain goddess (the exact term is derived from Sanskrit word "devata" देवता) associated with Mount Lantoy in Argao, Cebu, Philippines. The Maria Cacao legend is a prominent example of the mountain-goddesses motiff in Philippine mythology, other prominent examples being Maria Makiling of Los Baños and Maria Sinukuan of Mount Arayat. The original name of the Maria Cacao is unknown as it was not recorded before the Spanish subjugated her name in a bid to instill Roman Catholicisms into the natives. But it is widely assumed her name is not indigenous as 'Cacao'