Feeling guilty about all the chocolate you ate this Easter? Here are 7 little-known benefits of raw cacao to make it all okay.
What is Cacao?
Growing along areas near the equator, the theombra cacao tree is a tropical plant whose fruit is the source of everyone’s favourite Easter treat: chocolate.
Cacao beans, the seeds within the cacao fruit, are a nutritional powerhouse. These beans are the foundation of both cocoa powder and raw cacao powder, two forms of chocolate that offer distinct benefits.
What is the difference between Cocoa and Cacao powder?
Both cacao and cocoa powders are made from the dried seed of the Theobroma cacao fruit. They might look the same, but cacao production is quite different to cocoa.
Cocoa Powder
Cocoa beans are roasted at high temperatures, which removes moisture and develops a rich, chocolatey flavor. This process also destroys some of the natural enzymes and nutrients present in the beans.
Cocoa powder has a more familiar, intense chocolate flavor. It’s often used in baking and as a hot beverage.
While cocoa powder still has antioxidant properties, vitamins, and minerals, its nutritional value is lower than raw cacao powder due to the roasting process.
Cocoa powder contains a small amount of caffeine, which may provide a slight energy boost.
Raw Cacao Powder
Raw cacao beans are cold-pressed or ground without roasting. This preserves the natural enzymes, nutrients, and antioxidants present in the beans. It has a less intense chocolate flavor and a slightly bitter, earthy taste. Some people find it more “earthy” or “fruity” compared to cocoa powder.
Raw cacao powder is a superfood due to its high concentration of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It’s a great source of iron, magnesium, and fiber.
Raw cacao powder contains less caffeine than cocoa powder.
Is Cacao powder good for you?
Yes, cacao powder, especially raw cacao powder, is considered good for you! Here are seven health benefits of cacao:
1. Good for your bones
This essentially gives you a pass to keep eating chocolate, even as you age because cacao is rich in calcium which is good for your ageing bones.
Calcium, the inorganic component that makes bones strong and healthy, is naturally present in raw cacao in large amounts. When someone says calcium, you automatically think of milk. However cacao actually has more calcium than an equal amount of milk.
2. Blood Pressure Friendly
Phytonutrients are essentially nutrients derived from plants and cacao is full of them. Studies show that the phytonutrients found in raw cacao are really good for blood pressure maintenance. Generally, the phytonutrients in raw cacao have blood-thinning properties, which makes blood flow better in the veins, thus, relieving blood pressure.
3. Good for your heart
One of the phytonutrients found in cacao are flavanols which are natural compounds found in some plants that have anti-inflammatory and heart-protective properties.
This means that the addition of cacao in your diet could improve your heart health. Protect you from heart disease, improve blood circulation and even reduce the likelihood of a stroke.
These nutritional compounds have also been found to reduce the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as “bad cholesterol”.
4. A valuable Plant-based source of Iron
Iron is essential to the human body because it is one of the major components of haemoglobin, which is the part of your red blood cells that actually carry oxygen (and the part that makes your blood red).
Iron is easily found in meat.
It is trickier to find enough iron when you follow a plant-based diet. Luckily, raw cacao is such a good source of iron that it is actually even richer than certain meats such as beef and lamb. In fact, some sources even say that cacao is the best source of plant-based iron out there.
5. Rich in Dietary Fibre
We all know the importance of getting enough fibre in our diet.
Interestingly, cacao packs a ton of dietary fibre and we’re not talking about sugar. In fact, for something that makes chocolate, cacao by itself is actually very low in sugar. This is why dark chocolate – chocolate that has a higher cacao content – is more bitter than milk chocolate.
Due to its indigestible nature, dietary fibre is an excellent addition to any diet. Not only is it healthy for your gastrointestinal system, but it can even promote weight loss by making you feel full.
6. Rich in Antioxidants
With the scare of cancer and awareness of free radicals, we are all looking to increase our intake of antioxidants. Briefly, free radicals are molecules with electrons that are unpaired, which makes them highly unstable. The nature of unpaired electrons is to seek balance, which means that they try to steal electrons from surrounding molecules.
Unfortunately, if they happen to take those electrons from important molecules in the body such as proteins or DNA, then function in those bio-molecules can be destroyed and lead to mutation – causing health issues.
Antioxidants are basically the opposite and contain extra electrons to give to these free radicals so that they don’t take them from somewhere else.
Include raw cacao in your diet because it is absolutely full of antioxidants – up to 40 times more than blueberries! And with hundreds of complex antioxidant compounds in raw cacao, what a delicious way to help prevent cancer.
Sun Protection
We actually use certified organic raw cacao in our Organic Sun Balm.
Why?
In addition to providing a natural coloured tint to soften the bright white of zinc oxide, studies show using raw cacao on your skin provides many of the same benefits as eating it.
Regularly eating cacao has been shown to nearly double your skin’s resistance to sunburn. That’s not all – cacao may also help protect your skin from the harmful UV rays that can cause skin cancer.
It’s all thanks to the powerful antioxidants found in cacao. These antioxidants work prevent free radicals (damaging molecules) from attacking your skin contributing to wrinkles and premature aging. They even help repair existing damage, keeping your skin looking healthy and youthful.
But that’s not the only way cacao benefits your complexion. It’s rich in magnesium, a potent anti-inflammatory that can soothe redness and blemishes which leaves your skin looking smoother and more radiant.
7. A happiness booster
We all know that chocolate has a magical ability to lift our spirits but cacao might actually be even better for your mood? Studies have shown that eating raw cacao boosts levels of serotonin, a key neurotransmitter in the brain. Serotonin plays a crucial role in feelings of happiness, well-being, and contentment.
Serotonin is the same neurotransmitter that gets released when you fall in love or experience the joy of intimacy. It’s a powerful chemical that can make you feel connected, joyful, and relaxed.
Cacao, with its rich concentration of antioxidants and natural stimulants, is like a secret weapon for your mood. It not only boosts serotonin levels, but it also helps regulate mood swings, promotes relaxation, and contributes to a general sense of well-being.
So, next time you’re feeling a little down, reach for a piece of dark chocolate or a scoop of raw cacao powder. It might just be the secret ingredient to a happier, more relaxed you.
Conclusion
Although you never really needed any reason to eat chocolate, now you have several reasons to benefit from eating raw cacao. With more and more bioactive compounds discovered every day, the food you put in your body dictates your overall health.
Basically a superfood, cacao is a miracle fruit that not only packs a nutritional punch, but also tastes absolutely amazing.
Photo by Rodrigo Flores on Unsplash
