Chocolate Day: 20 facts that make us love these treats so much

Nine out of ten people love chocolate. Statistics show that every day about 1 billion connoisseurs of chocolate eat these delicacies. Besides being tasty, chocolate helps us to be happy and healthy. It increases the level of serotonin and dopamine, hormones of great mood, is a powerful source of antioxidants, improves blood circulation and lowers blood pressure, and reduces the risk of heart disease. Chocolate isn't only delicious and beneficial, it's a compliment, a universal gift, and an invariable attribute of all children's holidays, and it also became synonymous with wealth and prosperity.

Chocolate came to us from America and at first, chocolate in Europe was really only available to rich people. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, with the advent of industrial production, chocolate could be enjoyed by people who don't belong to the aristocracy. Now the word "chocolate" evokes images of bars of different sizes, bright candies, or crunchy bars with different fillings, but today's chocolate isn't much like the chocolate of the past. For most of history, chocolate has been a revered but bitter drink, not a sweet treat.