Kiddipedia
Nutritionist approved!!! Enjoy…
Is it true you can eat chocolate every day and even use it as a medicinal food?…
YES it is! I eat chocolate every single day, I use raw cacao in my smoothies, healthy treats and love experimenting with new recipes that offer healing and indulgence all in one.
There’s a good reason we are all a little cuckoo about Chocolate/Cacao. This amazing substance originated as a powerful medicine before the significant transformation to the chocolate we all came to know, love and crave. Chocolate, in the way we knew it 10 years ago, came packaged with sugar, unhealthy trans fats, processed oils, preservatives, anticaking agents etc etc. This led to chocolate being feared and craved – we love it, our bodies crave it but we do consider it an unhealthy treat food, not an everyday food.
However the unhealthy image chocolate has today is ONLY because of the junk ingredients we add to it! Cacao in its pure form is an amazing, medicinal, healthy and nutritious food which can actively improve our mood, energy, bowel function and general health. Cacao is also a great source of dietary iron and magnesium (two reasons we crave it during that time of the month) and many other health-promoting ingredients that are a lot less famous yet incredibly powerful.
Read on for more delicious excuses to enjoy chocolate every day – and feel self righteous about it too!..
Polyphenols: Cacao contains about 380 known natural chemical compounds, 10 of which are “psychoactive compounds” meaning they have an effect on mood and/or brain function. In their natural state, cocoa beans are virtually inedible because of their high concentration of polyphenols, which gives them an extremely bitter flavour.
In cocoa and chocolate as we know it the polyphenol content might decrease from 100% to 10% due to processing. Raw cacao is the closest to the natural state available. Reported benefits of the polyphenols in cacao are:
- Prevents oxidation of LDL cholesterol – effectively keeping the cholesterol you have healthy and safe. This helps to prevent damage to your arteries and plaque build-up. So if you have been advised you have high cholesterol, it is a good idea to begin increasing your consumption of antioxidants from foods like raw cacao.
- Regulates and controls the immune response, some studies have even shown cacao to have anti-cancer effects.
- Regulating appetite – the polyphenols in cacao are known for their assistance with regulating appetite. This is why you might find it difficult to consume large amounts of dark chocolate and is also one of the reasons that a small amount of chocolate following a meal became a common habit. Unfortunately the polyphenols responsible for this are reduced significantly in processing so you will not experience the same benefits from your standard milk chocolate. In addition, sugar increases appetite and most chocolate bars offer empty calories – driving further hunger as your body seeks the nutrients that it was “promised” when tasting the chocolate. So, in short, it’s no to Dairy Milk, yes to home made chocolate treats using raw cacao.
Theobromine is a “Phyto” (plant) chemical. This beneficial phytochemical is a stimulant which increases circulation, can reduce blood pressure, improve lung function and increase energy without having any effects on the central nervous system like other stimulants (such as caffeine).
This makes theobromine or raw cacao a great choice for a healthy, energising boost – without the resultant crash or jitters. Theobromine is found in most types of chocolate but is in it’s most potent in raw, unprocessed cacao.
Antioxidants: the antioxidant properties of Cacao are higher than green tea, red wine and many fresh fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants are best known for keeping us young. Realistically – antioxidants are a necessary nutrient like any other. Antioxidants help to prevent early cell death and are particularly important when you exercise frequently, are over 30, are under stress, or are unwell.
Magnesium – Cacao is an absolute powerhouse of magnesium hence why we often crave chocolate when we’re running low. Magnesium deserves a blog of it’s own and I’ve ear-marked this for another date. For now however let’s just list the things that magnesium is necessary for:
- Muscle relaxation,
- Blood sugar absorption and control,
- Hormonal regulation,
- Stress management,
- Sleep,
- Production of many important enzymes,
- Production of many of our “happy hormones” such as serotonin.
Anandamide: Known as “the bliss chemical”. Cacao is the only known food source of this amazing food chemical. Anandamide is the reason chocolate makes you feel happy (and is so addictive). When we eat cacao, the anandamide makes us feel loved – truly, this is further enhanced by the chemical phenylethylamine which is another food source of that “in love” feeling.
So with all of these wonderful health benefits and the powerful, blissful, loved-up feeling that it offers, why not eat chocolate every day?
There are plenty of fun and delicious ways to increase this valuable medicinal food in your diet. You could start by adding a tablespoon of cacao to your smoothies, enjoy a choc chia pudding, healthy chocolate muffins or try my choc-turmeric healthy hot chocolate.
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