Pinoys Asia’s top chocoholics

That Filipinos are amorous and have one of the highest birth rates in the world is no surprise — they best all Asians in the consumption of Hershey’s chocolates, bar none, according to Jerry Santiago, Hershey’s Philippines president and regional manager.

And chocolates, research shows, put you in the mood for love.

Santiago told The STAR on the eve of Valentine’s Day that Filipinos consume 75 million pieces of chocolate Kisses yearly, making them the most "Kisses-able country" in Asia.

Research shows that serotonin and other substances found in chocolate, most notably phenethylamine, can act as mild sexual stimulants.

Willie Ong, a cardiologist at the Makati Medical Center, agrees that chocolates, particularly dark chocolates, are good for the heart. And when the heart feels good, it can love a lot more.

"But I wouldn’t advise chocolates for diabetics and those who are obese," Ong adds.

According to Wikipedia, recent studies suggest that cocoa or dark chocolate may possess certain beneficial effects on human health. Dark chocolate, with its high cocoa content, is a rich source of the flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid, which are thought to possess cardioprotective properties. Some studies have also observed a modest reduction in blood pressure after consuming approximately 100g of dark chocolate daily.

Recent events also show that Filipinos love Kisses and kissing. Filipinos recently kissed en masse to set a new record — 6,124 couples— for the Guinness World Record of simultaneous kisses.

"The Philippines is a chocolate-eating country, and Hershey’s is the most popular real chocolate brand among Filipinos," added Erick Ampil, Hershey’s group product manager, during the celebration yesterday of the centennial of Hershey’s Kisses, the universal comfort food, at the Mandarin Oriental in Makati City.

Since the first Kiss rolled off the Hershey factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1907, 291 million pounds of Kisses have been consumed worldwide. This, according to Hershey’s Patricia Turquato, is equal to the weight of 29,000 adult elephants!