Here's Your Excuse . . . You're Welcome

Media
Feb 24
1 min read

From the 1500s through the 1800s, chocolate was considered medicine. Physicians prescribed it for conditions such as chest pain, fevers, stomach problems, kidney issues and fatigue.

From the 1500s through the 1800s, chocolate was widely regarded as medicine in both Mesoamerican and European traditions. According to the Smithsonian, healers in ancient Mesoamerica used cacao preparations to treat a range of ailments, and when chocolate arrived in Europe it was classified more as a drug than a food. Physicians prescribed it for conditions such as chest pain, fevers, stomach problems, and kidney issues, believing it had powerful restorative properties.

By the 17th century, European doctors and apothecaries were recommending chocolate for both physical and emotional ailments, including melancholy and weakness, and it was often dispensed in carefully measured doses.