We all know that chocolate is a magical substance, which is also believed to have medicinal properties. But when most of us think about chocolate, we don’t see a cure for malaria. But then again, most of us aren’t Bill Gates…
Malaria is a curable disease, and yet every year it still kills a whopping one million people, simply because they live in areas that are unable to receive the proper medication and vaccines. In this modern day and age, that fact is unacceptable, and over recent years some very important people (including Bill Gates and his wife) have joined the battle to end malaria once and for all.
Through their charity – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – the couple have been funding the research of new and innovative ways of developing an alternative malaria cure that can be distributed to the people living in these ‘unreachable areas.’
Bill Gates and his wife have donated to 76 different researchers, giving them a generous $100,000 (£61,000) each, to research and develop new and successful solutions to world problems.
One researcher’s unconventional idea was to use chewing gum as a test for malaria (via saliva), but this idea had several drawbacks. A much more plausible and effective idea was presented by researcher Steven Maranz from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. What Maranz proposed was to use chocolate to fight against and eventually cure malaria in these poorer areas. Intrigued? You should be…
The logic behind Maranz’s idea is that the malaria parasite needs cholesterol to survive, and chocolate is rich in certain elements that bind with cholesterol and remove it from the bloodstream, thereby removing the very thing that malaria feeds on. Maranz tested several different compounds before coming to the conclusion that chocolate is the best – Good job chocolate!
The plans are to deliver this chocolate miracle cure in liquid form, much like hot chocolate. Maranz hopes to kill off the majority of parasites in malaria sufferers, but leave just enough within the bloodstream so that current patients, as well as future generations, are able to develop a lifelong resistance to the parasite.
And he is not the only one to have noticed this life-saving aspect of chocolate – An Indian tribe from Panama, known as The Kuna, burn cocoa beans
and chilli pods together, and use the smoke to heal and ease the symptoms of malaria and other similar diseases. They also use the smoke from burning cocoa beans to diagnose illnesses, and drink at least five cups of hot chocolate per day, to keep cancer and heart disease at bay (and it works too)!
So, the next time you’re lucky enough to jet off to a distant, foreign land, it may well be worth packing a few of your favourite Choco-Mix bars in next to your bug spray! There has never been a more delicious way to keep yourself and your family healthy!
Happy Eating!
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