The Benefits of Cacao
In the last blog, I explained all the terms, so if you don’t know the difference between cacao and cocoa, please read that blog first.
In a nutshell, it can mean the same exact thing, referring to the same species of tree Theobroma cacao, but these days cacao is reserved for the raw or less-processed bean, which has a more bitter taste and cocoa is more processed to get that delicious creaminess and wonderful chocolate taste.
To tell you the truth, I was surprised that cacao actually does have nutritional benefits. I had always heard that and scoffed that people would claim anything to justify eating chocolate. Research on this subject was an eye-opener!
But then again, I heard of women going through hell with their endocrine and reproductive systems that just had to have that chocolate for relief. It just may have been that a good rest and a box of bon bons wasn’t just laziness.
And I once had an experience with Godiva chocolate that amazes me to this day! I was having an awful time. I had one of those four-piece sample gift boxes that someone gave me as a Christmas present in my freezer. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it because I don’t eat candy. But that day I was - well I don’t want to get into the situation, but I was really wanting out of this life. This was in the mid 90’s.
I saw the chocolate in the freezer. I was moving and I didn’t want to carry it with me to the new place. And I sat on the stairs, half hoping it would do its work fast and kill me right away, I took my first bite. Wow! The taste was an intense pleasure I did not expect, but the way my mood surged was a godsend! And it gave me enough energy to pack my whole apartment. Well, not the whole apartment. I ran out of gas, finished off that one piece, and got another power surge and with that I packed everything. And you better believe I took the rest of that chocolate with me! Too bad Godiva closed all of its American stores by 2021 due to the world situation. To me, a sad casualty.
Well, the first use of cacao was not to make chocolate, but to make a drink that increased strength and endurance and it was used to revive people. If worn out or under the weather, you would get that drink and come out of it. Its name means Food of the Gods. Theos-god, Broma-food in ancient Greek. Cacao, oddly enough, came from two ancient words meaning bitter water.
It’s amazing that such a bitter thing could change its flavor so drastically upon roasting. It unfortunately loses its antioxidants and a lot of its nutritional value when roasted, but apparently not all. Chocolate is still known to help things as I mentioned.
In Mexico and Central America, that drink was given to warriors before battle and it was used in formal ceremonies, but only the upper-class population had access to it on a regular basis.
There are different kinds of cacao as well; Criollo, Forastero, Trinitario, and Arriba are the main ones. One of the highest quality and most expensive is called Criollo. It has what is known as a “fine flavour”. This is described as delicate with fruity, nutty and caramel notes that linger longer than other types.
Criollo needs less processing because it naturally tastes better due to a very nice fat profile and less tannins. But it still has a lot of polyphenol antioxidants that it can retain because it already tastes good and can be made into cocoa or chocolate without the usual high temperatures. It only needs slight roasting. It has a lower level of Theobromine but a higher level of caffeine. It is grown in Central America, and upper South America, Venezuela and Peru.
The unfortunate thing is that it is more prone to disease and so is harder to grow and because of this only accounts for 3% of the world's cacao. I guess the bugs, big and small, know quality.
Forastero is the cacao with the highest global production. It accounts for 80% of the world's production because it is more hardy and disease-resistant. It is more bitter and acidic with stronger flavors than other varieties. It is mostly grown in West Africa and Brazil.
Trinitario is a hybrid between Criollo and Forastero. It was developed in Trinidad in the 1700’s after a disease outbreak. It is mainly grown in the Caribbean, Latin America and parts of Southeast Asia. It has more of the flavor of Criollo, but it is much hardier, and it still only accounts for 14% of the world's cacao.
Ecuadorian Nacional Cacao, often called Arriba, is a distinct cousin of criollo. It is associated with Ecuador, while Criollo’s origins are associated with Venezuela. Arriba is described as more fruity and less nutty than Criollo. Arriba accounts for even less of the market than Criollo, around 1%.
Incidentally, it is called Arriba (upper) because it is grown in the upper river basin of Ecuador, but I can’t help thinking there’s a double meaning there. Arriba is used as a rallying cry to lift spirits. You may have heard people saying "Arriba, Arriba!"
According to the NIH, there are around 380 compounds in Cacao that cause some benefit.
ANTIOXIDANTS:
Mostly they are different forms of antioxidants in the dimer and trimer category. These are smaller chains of molecules. As you know from previous blogs, mer means part and the prefix tells how many parts. So a dimer has 2 parts to a chain, and a trimer has 3.
Other antioxidants in cacao, meaning the unprocessed, unfermented, raw bean, are much bigger chains of compounds containing many structural rings. Polyphenols is the name you are familiar with. These are plentiful but drop off markedly even at the fermentation stage.
You may recognize some of these compounds: Quercitin, epicatechin, catechins, procyanidins and anthocyanidins. The last 2 are longer chains, which can contain all the others. Gallic acid and resveratrol were also mentioned as components. There are probably other flavanols because they can change their forms very easily, but these are the ones I have found mentioned. The remarkable thing is the amounts.
One reference said 15 times more than blueberries. A few others said 40 times more than blueberries. One listed that it had higher antioxidant levels than Acai, Red Wine and Green Tea and an NIH study found cacao to be the highest compared with red wine and green tea and black tea from about 200% to 500% more.
Well, that would account for those sudden dramatic effects reported from drinking one drink of the stuff.
ALKALOIDS
These are Nitrogen compounds that have great action in the metabolism. Theobromine is the major one mentioned. Caffeine is present in much lower concentration. The structure of these two only differs by one carbon and 2 hydrogens. But just that difference enables caffeine to cross the blood brain barrier, where theobromine cannot.
Theobromine gives you energy by increasing heart rate and dilating blood vessels which amounts to increased circulation. This enhances the action of all your nutrition and is the reason theobromine works so well with other superfoods. People report that they experience a calmer energy that is steadier compared with the dip experienced with caffeine.
NEUROTRANSMITTERS
Cacao contains compounds that break down the enzymes that break down neurotransmitters. That means that it, in effect, increases Serotonin which is a happiness neurotransmitter and is involved in reducing stress. It also has tryptophan, which the body uses to make more serotonin, but also Dopamine and Norepinephrine. Wow no wonder my mood got better with that chocolate. These are motivating, happiness and pleasure-related. They can be hormones or neurotransmitters.
MOOD LIFTERS
Another compound found in cacao is Anandamide. It is also known as the Bliss molecule. Its name comes from the Sanskrit word ananda, which means bliss. This has been determined as the thing that causes the runners' high, often described by marathon runners. It affects pain perception and mood.
Phenethylamine (PEA) is another thing found in cacao. This is part of a body’s natural pharmacy. It is produced during sex and other times of joy. Now, I have heard people describe a taste of chocolate as orgasmic, but I had no idea! I thought they were being overdramatic!
HIGH IN VITAMINS, MINERALS, FIBER, AND HEALTHY FATS
It is quite overshadowed by Cacao’s other ingredients, but cacao is rich in essential minerals and vitamins, fiber and healthy fats.
Cacao can contain magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium and zinc, selenium, copper, manganese and phosphorus. But sometimes it can contain lead and cadmium too. It all depends on where and how it is grown. But to put it in perspective, all our food grown in our current soils contains these things as well, including organic. soil That is why the Prop 65 warnings in California exclude food from their warnings. That’s why eating things like mushrooms and occasionally detoxing is important.
Cocoa Butter, the fat part of Cacao, is high in fatty acids and polyphenols. It is great for quenching those free radicals and improves the elasticity of the skin and helps prevent stretch marks taken internally as well as topically.
You often hear that about Shea butter as well, but Shea butter from the Shea nut is rich in Vitamins A and E. I would think it would be a killer combination.
But maybe it would be redundant because raw cacao is rich in vitamins, too. Specifically, A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B9, C and Vitamin E.
Wow, this cacao stuff really is the Food of the Gods. I think I will now take better advantage of it. You maybe already are, but now you can feel much better about it and you can look out for relative quality. I hope I have increased your enjoyment and your health.