Nutrition in Chocolate: Cacao Superfood is Amazingly Good for You! Eat Your Cacao Beans!
The History of Chocolate
Although it is not known exactly where the word cacao originated, it is thought to have come from the ancient Mayan Olmec peoples. The word “cocoa” is a British slang form of the word cacao.
The earliest signs of the use of cacao date back to 2000 BC in what is now present day Honduras. The Maya actually put such a high value on cacao beans that they were used as currency. After the collapse of the Mayan civilization, the Aztecs put a high value on the prized bean as well. They actually formed rituals around the consumption of it.
After conquering central Mexico, it is believed that Cortes, upon returning to Spain, was the first to introduce cacao beans to Europe.
Cacao grows on a tree which produces pod-fruits that contain the beans. Each fruit produces about twenty to fifty beans and takes five or six months to mature. The cacao tree bears fruit all year long.
The Abundant Source of Nutrition in Cacao
Did you know that the actual nutrition in cacao makes it the single best food to eat for you teeth and bones? The raw cacao superfood is full of essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Maybe this is why it is the most widely eaten nut in the world!
It is thirty times higher in antioxidants than red wine, twenty times higher than green tea and ten times higher than blueberries.
Raw chocolate has been studied for its effects on longevity more than any other single food. The findings show that the more you eat, the longer you live!
Here is why the nutrition is cacao is so excellent. It contains high amounts of the following nutrients:
- antioxidants
- magnesium
- iron
- chromium
- manganese
- zinc
- copper
- vitamin C
- omega-6 Fatty Acids
- phenylethylamine
- ananamide
- tryptophan
- seratonin
- fiber
As far as the nutrition in cacao, one cacao bean has the same nutritional value of sixteen raw almonds. It is one of the best foods to eat for diabetics because of the high magnesium and chromium content which helps to balance the blood sugar!! It contains ten times more magnesium than the next highest food source of this mineral.
The cacao superfood only contains about 1/20th the amount of caffeine as coffee which makes it a great morning wake-me-up!
By many raw foodists, the cacao is thought to be the most important food to include in the diet. It is one of the best foods to eat for weight loss and energy and also helps to guard against cardiovascular clots. The key is to eat cacao in its raw form. I buy it in powder form and use it in smoothies or to make cookies or raw food bars. Yum! It will lose its potency when cooked. Why not add raw chocolate to your daily fare!
Good sources for raw chocolate are Sunfood Nutrition, Raw Vegan Source or the Raw Food World.
Sources
Wolfe, David. Naked Chocolate. Maul Brothers Publishing. San Diego, CA 2005
Wolfe, David. Superfoods. North Atlantic Books. Berkeley, CA 2009