The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 266 No 7149 p698
May 26, 2001

Fattening but fascinating
Conveying ideas
Shifting sands

Fattening but fascinating

Chocolate is part of our inheritance, and we consume it on any plausible occasion. Much of its fascination stems from the enormous variety of forms it can take, from the mild pre-bedtime beverage to the crunchy shell enclosing a sickly perfumed mass. There is a widespread belief that chocolate is fattening and that it is unwise to indulge too freely in it. Nevertheless, it constitutes a valuable emergency ration on a long trek.

In some literature, cocoa or drinking chocolate is mildly derided as something consumed in women's common rooms in university colleges by way of a nightcap. Indeed, G. K. Chesterton wrote “Cocoa is a cad and a coward, / Cocoa is a vulgar beast”. In some ancient cultures, however, the drinking of chocolate was highly rated, and the value placed on cocoa beans led to their adoption as a form of currency. Among the Maya of Central America cacao was an important trade item. Sixteenth century writers hailed it as a prime product of the lower Rio Hondo, north-west Honduras, Chiapas and Guatemala. Effigies of cacao pods have been identified from about AD100, and carbonised bean rind has been dated as far back as 1100BC, from Belize. And in Belize cacao beans were one usual form of currency in all manner of situations.

The name of the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, derived originally from the South American rain forest, was conferred by Linnaeus to denote its supposed divine origin, theobroma being Greek for “food of the gods”. The tree itself reaches a height of some 12m, and has elongated shiny leaves and small pink flowers. The fruit is a pod, reddish brown when ripe, containing about 25 seeds, which are the cocoa beans. The annual production of a tree is about 30 fruits.

To prepare chocolate the ripe pods are cut open and the seeds allowed to ferment for three to nine days. The brown product is sun-dried and roasted and develops the typical chocolate flavour. After shelling, the fruits are crushed and ground to produce a fatty semi-liquid. The fat is separated by filtration and the remaining material ground into cocoa powder. Cocoa contains about 20 per cent protein, 40 per cent carbohydrate and 40 per cent fat, and is therefore a rich food. Its mild stimulant effect is attributed to theobromine and phenylethylamine. Several other substances may be added to increase palatability, including sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. The Aztecs, in making their favourite chocolate beverage, added honey.

After chocolate had been introduced into Europe by the Spanish conquerors of the Americas its popularity became such that cultivation spread from its original habitat to the African countries of Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon. World production of cocoa beans today amounts to more than 3 million tonnes a year, which is striking evidence of its continued importance among our foodstuffs.

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Conveying ideas

The suggestion, in an editorial published in Nature for May 3, that science students, as part of their graduation process, should undergo a formal course in the communication of scientific ideas, appears to me an excellent one.

In these days of rushing competition and bulging curricula, we hear self-styled experts in the field of education repeating ad nauseam that educational efforts should aim from day one at fitting an individual to play a narrow and conventional role in a bustling producer-consumer society where money is the goal. This idea persists despite growing evidence that financial profit-pursuit throughout the world has already resulted in a greedy and polarised society in which the rich grow ever richer and the poor are dismissed as idle scroungers.

Nature remarks that formal communication training could advantageously be included in every undergraduate science course, irrespective of any intention of the student to proceed to a doctorate in some circumscribed scientific discipline. If that were to be achieved, scientists working in different disciplines could learn to communicate with one another and with the public and the media of information, without fear of misconception. As the editorial puts it: “The ability to effectively communicate one's ideas and thoughts is becoming increasingly important as society and economics grow more intertwined with science and technology.” Although to a purist like myself split infinitives are regarded askance, I applaud the sentiments.

Education tends to bulge at the seams until the fundamental idea that its main raison d'être is to free an individual's own assets tends to be neglected. As a result, aspirations to persuade academics to cultivate a broader and more socially civilised literacy in students have not succeeded. Degree students entering science should be ‘‘trained in essay writing, conducting research and giving presentations during each year of their study.”

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Shifting sands

A letter published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) for April 18 draws attention to one of the risks associated with constructional excavations in clay, soil and rock that have led to the adoption of safety guidelines for industry. It points out that such risk is not confined to industrial undertakings but may also be significant for children playing on the seashore.

Recreation on the beach, particularly by children, is recognised as presenting a few minor hazards. As a rule emphasis is placed upon the peril posed by the sea itself when children intent on a game of their own fail to take account of the relentless advance of the tide. However, sand has its own hazards. Life-threatening episodes and even deaths have been reported after children have excavated pits in dry sand and have been trapped in them by the collapse of the walls.

Seven episodes have been reported in the letter, six concerned with public beaches on the Atlantic coast of the United States, and one with a domestic backyard. The individuals affected ranged in age from 8 to 21 years and six of them were boys. The holes they excavated varied in depth from one to three metres and in diameter from one to five metres, and were achieved with the naked hands or with toy digging tools. In each instance the person involved became completely submerged when the wall of the excavation fell in without warning, leaving little trace on the surface. Four children died after immersion for 15 to 60 minutes, and three survived after being rescued within 10 minutes of having nose and mouth covered.

I have come across several similar incidents, fortunately non-fatal, where children unwisely dug caves in steep sand dunes which at first sight seemed stable enough. By the time a depth of a metre or two was reached, the dune collapsed, and the child found great difficulty in extricating itself. The weight of a pile of sand, particularly when moist, has to be experienced to be appreciated. The making of a cave probably excites ancestral instincts, and offers attractive prospects to an enterprising child. However, there are times when things go wrong and a day on the sandy seashore turns into a tragedy.

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