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
Arturo Gómez-Pompa y realidades. Bol. Soc. Bot. Mexico. 63: 33-41. Whikus, R., M. de la Cruz, L. Mota-Bravo, A. Gomez-Pompa. 1998. Genetic diversity and relationships of wild cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in southern Mexico. Theoret. And Appl. Genet. 96: 621-627. Arturo Gómez-Pompa Arturo Gómez-Pompa (born 1934 in Mexico City) is a well-known tropical biologist who is currently a scientific advisor for the Tropical Research Center of the Universidad Veracruzana (CITRO) and a distinguished professor emeritus of botany at the University of California, Riverside. He made various notable contributions to the field of tropical ecology over the years through the creation of databases