#13 - The Secret Life of Chocolate

Chocolate has a secret life. One where, instead of being formed into industrial bars, women combine it by hand with local herbs to make drinks. One where it is a healer, not a creator of addiction. One where it’s revered - held so sacred that it’s used in ceremony and as currency, not bought for a few pennies, wrapper discarded. One where it’s bitter, potent and intense, not sweet and sickly. And one where nobody feels guilt when they imbibe it. There’s no-one more qualified to open the door to this world than Marcos Patchett, author of the 700-page The Secret Life of Chocolate. This book, which covers everything you could possibly want to know about cacao - including how it was ancestrally used, it’s pharmacology and it’s mythology - will completely change your view of cacao.“There’s a lifetime’s worth of research in this book.” Come join us as we dive into a cacao-flavoured world!The run-down:1:52 About the book7:20 Why Marcos wrote the book12:19 The effect of imbibing extracted plant compounds v. the whole plant 15:10 How cacao was originally drunk and how chocolate is eaten in the West now20:25 The book-writing high point 26:40 Alison, Andrea and Marcos talk about their relationships with chocolate34:00 Chocolate and disordered eating36:58 Cacao’s medicinal effects44:00 How chocolate’s effects are mediated by the eater’s intention59.40 The cultural side of cacao's history1:07:25 Self-medicating with chocolate as part of disordered eating1.10:25 Practical steps to start eating chocolate ancestrally/authentically“It blew my mind to realise I’ve been blocking benefits of chocolate by feeling guilt” Alison*Due to equipment failure, this episode does not have as good audio quality as normal. But it's totally listenable and wonderful content!*If you want to buy your own copy of the book, Marcos is offering a 20% discount. Use the code CHOC20 on the publishers website:For those in the US: https://bit.ly/3dVRX1dFor rest of world: https://www.aeonbooks.co.uk“The modern research suggests quite strongly that cacao is protective against heart disease and stroke and type 2 diabetes.” MarcosResources mentioned:Our 6 Books We Love episode Jonathan Ott - The Cacahuatl Eater Susana Trilling - Seasons of my HeartMama Coca“Only eating the chocolate mindfully produced a positive increase in mood” MarcosWhere to find Marcos and his work:Marcos’ book’s website: https://thesecretlifeofchocolate.com/Marcos’ Instagram: