An Alphabetic Guide to SUPERFOODS - Cacao (Cocoa)

Superfoods are nature's gift, they're vibrant, nutritionally dense foods that offer us tremendous dietary and healing potential. 

RAW CACAO   

With so many "so called" super foods on the market, one can easily become confused as to which one to eat. Some of these super foods have a bit of a potent taste, and it takes a little bit of time to get used to eating it. There is one super food however that has been eaten by the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans for thousands of years for its healing properties... and that food is raw cacao.

When you think of cacao, your thought immediately turns to chocolate and you are probably wondering how chocolate can be good for you. But the chocolate found in chocolate bars are in fact not the raw form of cacao and it is only when you eat cacao in its raw form that you can derive the benefits from it. Here are only a few benefits of eating raw cacao.

1. Raw cacao is a stimulant and will boost your body's energy level and also make you feel good about yourself. 
2. Although it is a stimulant it also helps to regulate your sleeping patterns. 
3. Eating cacao will reduce the effects of stress and fatigue. 
4. Raw chocolate gives you a sense of well being and euphoria and will reduce depression due to the fact that it stimulates your brain's neurotransmitters. 
5. It will actually strengthen your cardiovascular system in that raw cacao contains flavanols which helps to maintain blood pressure. The flavanols also prevents the build-up of fatty substances which can clog the arteries. 
6. Raw cacao is also a mild aphrodisiac. 
7. Raw cacao has a high sulfur content. Sulfur is also known as the beauty mineral and is necessary to detoxify the liver, gives you a beautifully healthy skin and helps to build strong hair and nails. 
8. The flavanols found in raw cacao work in much the same way as aspirin and blood-thinners in that it helps to prevent the blood platelets from sticking together and forming blood clots causing strokes and heart attacks. 
9. Dark chocolate has appetite suppressant qualities and can actually help you to lose weight. This is the reason why cacao is often included in weight loss products. 
10. Raw cacao will also stimulate your body's immune system.

Cacao is one of the most complex food substances on earth and contains more than 300 chemically identifiable compounds.

Despite all the obvious health benefits of eating raw cacao remember that there is a huge difference between cacao and chocolate. Although they contain cacao, chocolates are made from processed cacao and not the raw version, grocery store chocolates also contain high amounts of sugar and unhealthy fats. Along with all the sugar added to make chocolate sweet, most chocolate only contains about 5 percent of the nutritional value of raw cacao. Dark chocolate on the other hand is made from raw cacao which means a lot of the original nutrients are retained during the process.

This means that if you really want to feel the benefits of cacao, you will need to eat it in its raw form and not in the form of standard chocolate that you buy at the grocery store.


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