The Power Of Cocoa: Raw And Without Additives

Cocoa was the most precious gold of the Mayan empire due to all its good properties. It is obtained from the seeds found in the pods of the cacao tree; pods that grow from a wild orchid-like flower emerging from the trunk.

Today it is undoubtedly considered a great superfood for all the benefits it brings to health. Therefore, although it is the key ingredient in one of the most acclaimed gastronomic pleasures in history – chocolate – these two foods must be differentiated very well.

The first is a superfood , a low-fat powder obtained from grinding cocoa nuts; the second is a mixture of ingredients, many of them refined, such as sugar, fat and dairy products.

6 health benefits of raw cocoa

Raw cocoa is one of the foods with the highest concentration of antioxidants, with a score of 95,000 ORAC units: 14 times more than red wine and 21 times more than green tea.

In addition, it is rich in a vital mineral for the body, magnesium, and a small serving of 30 g more than covers the recommended iron per day. Other minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, copper, manganese, and, to a lesser extent, selenium, potassium, and zinc, are also present.

The benefits of raw cocoa are multiple:

1. Diabetes: helps improve insulin resistance and glucose metabolism. Its pro-anthocyanins prevent cataracts and are effective in the prevention and cure of nephrotoxicity due to diabetes.
2. Blood pressure: its high flavonoid content makes it a good ally to regulate it; in turn, it stimulates the production of nitric oxide, which relaxes the blood vessels.
3. Obesity: helps shape lipid metabolism, reduces fatty acid synthesis and increases thermogenesis, the production of heat in adipose tissue.
4. Brain: its flavonoids exert a neuroprotective role, as they improve memory functions and learning capacity. Epicatechin and catechin have been shown to have beneficial effects in the prevention of Alzheimer’s.
5. Cardiovascular health: flavonoids such as procyanidins, catechins and epicatechins, with an antiaggregant effect on platelets, help prevent arteriosclerosis and thrombosis.
6. Healthy skin: flavonoids increase the elasticity, hydration and density of the skin. In addition, epicatechin increases oxygen saturation in hemoglobin, which stimulates skin circulation and contributes to endogenous photoprotection.

Cocoa lifts your spirits

Its flavonoids improve mood, fight depression and protect cognitive activity.

The phenylethylamine contained in cocoa gives it an aphrodisiac effect and is also responsible for the “happy moment” that occurs after eating chocolate.

We will use cocoa to prepare drinks, sauces, appetizers and desserts, and all kinds of homemade chocolates, always better raw to maintain its properties.

Despite being an excellent food, it should not be abused: it can be somewhat addictive due to theobromine, an exciting similar to caffeine.