chocolate

My exams are pursuing me like a swarm of bees would if I were covered in honey and had just broken their hive. Or like a pack of wolves who had gone hungry for weeks in the woods in November. Or like a tribe of dumb aliens who thought I was their god and were running after me with an axe to exult me to immortality, because it was so much more fun to worship a god if it was dead. Figure of speech apart, I’m counting my days to Armageddon. And at such psychologically draining times, it’s advisable to take a moment and think of the loveliest thing that has blessed this cursed generation of human beings: Chocolates.







I always (and I mean ALWAYS) have a stock of chocolates comfortably snuck in my refrigerator. It helps to know that they are there for me, ready to be nibbled at, ready to make me feel good, no matter how much mud I was in. And ice-cream helps just as much. True, I’m gaining weight fast (as I always have before exams). But I’m out of cards to play. Last week I already had a haircut which looked like a car crash and therefore wasn’t all that therapeutic! So I said, that’s it! In the evening, I had a box of ice-cream in the refrigerator and that same night, it was all gone.

It felt as good as a sin!

So, when I’m not eating ‘em, I’m writing about ‘em. And when I’m not writing about ‘em, I’m taking pictures of ‘em.

Last year during the exams, I was transformed much in the way Elvis Presley was in his Last days. On the left side, you can see Elvis as an icon, a tall slim singing dude ladies swooned over, and no one seemed to care that he wasn't much of a singer. And on the right side, you see the monster that ate him and claimed to BE him:


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I suspect something similar or greater in magnitude is going to take place this year too, in the space of a month or less. But few things are ever perfectly evil or perfectly good. I have scoured the Internet for upsides to chocolates and viola!

Sweet facts

1.Eat more, stay young
The A-list of antioxidants now includes chocolate -- up there with soya beans and green tea. Antioxidants help protect the body from damage cause by pollution, pesticides, smoking, stress and processed foods.

2.Heart of the matter
It’s high in saturated fat, which is bad for those at risk of heart disease. But now RMIT University, Melbourne, has found that the stearic acid in better-quality chocolate helps stop blood clots forming.

3.Smile!
Quality chocolate makes you happy, and not just because it tastes good. Some scientists credit phenylethylamine, a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love, but others doubt this reaches the bloodstream. Maybe thank caffeine and the chemical serotonin. Chocolates also contains a compound called anandamide that is believed to boost your mood and the sweet stuff’s energy content can raise endorphin levels.

4.Choc tops
Exercise and stress deplete magnesium levels. Green, leafy vegetables are the best source of this mineral but some chocolate – particularly the bitter variety – contains a decent amount too.

5.Smoothly
Feeling stressed? Serotonin can help. Exercise is one way to get it. Another is to eat foods high in the amino acid tryptophan, which is converted in the body to serotonin – and the chocolate is a good source of tryptophan.

And here’s how I, a true connoiseur, nominate:
Best chocolate: Belgian Chocolate truffles, Hershey’s extra cream milk chocolate nuggets.
Best ice-cream: Igloo’s Caramel Combo.

Unless it’s someone whose taste-buds are in complete discord with the likes of mine, these can drive anyone completely and totally la-la!