Cacao 101
Source
Theobroma cacao or the "cacao tree" grows in tropical jungle regions around the world but is native to the Americas. Cacao beans – technically nuts – are the seeds of the cacao fruit tree found in the jungle. Chocolate comes from cacao beans which may also be referred to as cacao seeds, cacao nuts, chocolate seeds, chocolate beans, or cacao nibs – all essentially referring to the same thing. All of our cacao products are derived from these cacao beans.
Benefits
Nutrition Summary
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The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Cornell University and Harvard have recently presented very convincing evidence that chocolate — specifically DARK CHOCOLATE — is one of the world’s healthiest foods.
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Some experts consider it to be the #1 source of magnesium of any food.
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Research has shown dark chocolate to also be the #1 antioxidant food with approximately twice as many antioxidants as red wine and three times as many as green tea.
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Finally, chocolate also contains an abundance of Phenylethylamine (PEA) and Anandamide, two chemicals that can make your brain feel focused and happy.
Natural Energy
Cacao beans (raw chocolate) contain more than 300 known chemicals with numerous physiological benefits. Scientists have been working on isolating specific chemicals and their combinations that may explain some of the pleasurable effects of consuming chocolate. Caffeine is the most well known of these chemical ingredients, and while it's present in chocolate, it can only be found in small quantities. Theobromine, a weak stimulant, is also present in slightly higher amounts. Although caffeine and theobromine have relatively weak stimulant effects in cacao, it is possible that in combination, these and other potentially bioactive constituents do influence our liking for chocolate.
Mood-Booster
The Food of Love
Phenylethylamine (PEA) is the chemical found in the brain of happy people. Fall in love, and your PEA level shoots up. You become peppy and full of optimism. If things go wrong in your life, especially your love life, your PEA level drops and you become listless and tired. Raw Chocolate is loaded with PEA.
Antioxidants
The anthocyaninins give rise to the purple color of unfermented beans. Anthocyaninins encourage connective tissue regeneration and are anti-inflammatory. They promote blood flow and reduce cholesterol, in addition to being antioxidants. Anthocyaninins seem to stabilize and protect capillaries from oxidative damage and have been shown to stabilize connective tissue, promote collagen formation, improve microcirculation and help protect blood vessels from oxidative damage.
During fermentation of cacao beans, the anthocyanin is converted to quinonic compounds to give the bean its characteristic brown color. During this process, the bitterness of unfermented beans is reduced. During fermentation the polyphenols undergo a variety of reactions, including self-condensation and reaction with proteins and peptides. Approximately 20% of the polyphenols by weight remain at the end of the fermentation process. Roasting and other cocoa processing activities also cause changes. The level of polyphenols will vary with the variety of cocoa bean and with the degree of fermentation.
Other substances in chocolate that have been discussed as pharmacologically significant include histamine, serotonin, tryptophan, phenylethylamine, tyramine, salsolinol and magnesium.
