Top 12 Benefits of Raw Chocolate

Do you want to get rid of your coffee addiction and still feel energized through the whole day? Then raw chocolate is your answer. Do you grab a cup of coffee or an espresso shot for a quick fix? What if I can tell you that you can bypass coffee and all its negative long-term effects on your body and be full of energy that will keep you going through the whole day? You can now replace your espresso shot with a powerful superfood called raw chocolate. 

Raw chocolate contain a substance called theobromine, which is a natural stimulant-free energy boosting source that will keep you going through the whole day. Where as caffeine, except dehydration, it will takes you on an energy rush for a maximum of two hours and then on a caffeine low, which cause tiredness. 

This is usually when you reach for the second cup of coffee. Raw chocolate also contain endorphin, which is a natural mood enhancer. 
So, eating raw chocolate does not only provide stable energy but also provides a mood enhancing affect in your body.
Same Same But Different

Same product but in it's processed/cooked form will have a huge difference on your body. The reason why you should consume raw chocolate and not cooked processed/milk chocolate, is because of it's natural living benefits. Milk chocolate is processed and cooked, which kills all living enzymes and nutrients and turns the omega-6 fatty acids into trans fat. This is why you will gain weight and have a sugar rush when consuming these processed chocolates. Raw chocolate is known for its bitterness, but what if I tell you that you can have the most tasty raw chocolate desserts and snacks? Indulge yourself in these tasty recipes on raw cacao that will keep you healthy and energized!

Top 12 Benefits Cacao Has On Your Body:

1. Alkalize Your Body and Build Strong Bones: Raw cacao is one of the greatest alkaline minerals and number one carrier of Magnesium! Magnesium supports your heart, increases your brainpower, increase bowel movements, relaxes muscles and menstrual cramps, increases alkalinity and flexibility as well as building strong bones. Such a small bean filled with so many benefits... WOW! When your body has enough magnesium, your arteries and veins will start to relax, which lifts the resistance and improves the flow of oxygen, blood and nutrients. A shortage of magnesium will create heart problems much faster than you expected. Cacao has enough magnesium to fight the magnesium deficiency in your body.

2. Detox Your Body: Of any food in the world, cacao carries the most antioxidants ever discovered. By weight, cacao has more antioxidants than blueberries, coffee, goji berries and pomegranate. Antioxidants protect you from age related illnesses, that's why you need to consume more of it to shield you from all those illnesses.

3. Build Healthy Blood Cells: The most critical mineral in nutrients. Cacao contains 314% of the U.S RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of iron per 28 grams. Iron plays an important role in the oxygen- carrying protein called haemoglobin, that keeps your blood healthy and fights against anaemia. This prevents you from feeling tired the whole day and increases your level of energy and concentration.

4. Appetite Control: The craving fighter! Chromium is an important mineral that helps to balance your blood sugar levels. If your blood sugar levels aren't balanced, you will have sugar cravings and this will lead you to eat the wrong foods, which will lead you to gain unhealthy fat. So, when eating cacao, you will consume enough chromium to reverse deficiencies in your blood sugar levels.

5. Repair Body Tissue: Cacao is an excellent source of zinc, which plays a critical role in the immune system, skin, liver, pancreas and sexual fluids. Zinc also takes part in thousands of enzymatic reactions through your body, which heals all broken tissue. This is the reason that skin reactions such as acne and eczema get treated with zinc.

6. Provide Haemoglobin: Copper is part of the natural Vitamin C complex in plants, such as cacao and helps to build strong immunity and healthy blood in your body. This will lead to proper functioning of your metabolism and organs.

7. Strong Immune System: Cacao is a rich source of vitamin C, known as the super-medical vitamin that's a carrier of other compounds. Your body can't produce vitamin C on its own and it also doesn't store it. Therefore it's very important to include plenty of vitamin C-containing foods in your daily lifestyle. This means that cacao is very necessary, because every 28 grams of cacao nibs, contains 21% of the RDA of vitamin C. That's about 44mg per 100 grams of cacao. This explains the high value of this superfood and the impact it has on your health, but it needs to be taken raw to consume the vitamin C. When chocolate is cooked and processed the value of the vitamin C has already been demolished.

8. Healthy Brain Function and Nervous System: Cacao contains the necessary amounts of omega-6 fatty acids that your body needs to ensure proper brain and muscle development as well as a cooperating nervous system. As soon as chocolate is cooked or processed the omega-6 fatty acids turns into trans fats, which leads to inflammatory reactions when consumed. This cqan cause chronic illnesses as well as high cholesterol.

9. Ease Depression: The central neurotransmitter in your body is called serotonin, which helps your body to build up its "stress-defence shield". Isn't your body just awesome? WOW! We are equipped naturally to be protected against all these harmful elements through our bodies and superfoods such as cacao, which is the only superfood with the highest content of serotonin. This is also the reason why chocolate and love have a strong connection. Taste + Serotonin = LOVE! So, if your serotonin levels are high and the whole world falls apart, you would still feel good! If your serotonin levels are low and the world doesn't fall apart, you will feel depressed anyway. Most of the people that are suffering of depression have low serotonin levels. So, it's very important to keep your "feeling good" hormone levels high.Choose cacao to be your best superfood friend and you will be happy for life!

10. Maximum Endorphin: Cacao contains anandamide, which is a cannabinoid endorphin that your body naturally produces after exercise. It's also known as the "bliss chemical"; because it gets released while you feeling great. So for me it's a natural mood enhancer! This endorphin has only been found in the cacao plant, which contains enzyme interruptions that decrease your body's ability to breakdown anandamide. This means that when you eat cacao, you will feel good for much longer.

11. Healthy Digestive System: The most important nutrient for cleaning your intestines and for normal bowel movements is fibre, which creates a much better and healthier digestive system. This will prevent constipation, bloated stomach cramps and irritable bowel syndrome. This ancient superfood is loaded with fibre and can be blended, crushed or micronized to be affective and cleanse your digestive system.

12. Mood Enhancer: This great superfood contains a powerful mood-enhancing nutrient, called tryptophan. As I described the importance of serotonin above, this powerful amino acid plays a critical role in the production of serotonin. Now, firstly it helps your body to create it and it helps your body to use it. Now, once tryptophan is in your body, it reacts with vitamin B6 and B3 in the presence of magnesium to produce serotonin. This essential amino acid can be destroyed if you cook it. So, mostly people would eat chocolate candy bars, which means that the tryptophan has been destroyed. No wonder that depression is on the rise! Eating cacao beans raw is the best way to absorb tryptophan, which produces serotonin in your body. Now your world can be a happier place!

Raw chocolate is heart healthy, guilt-free and gives you all the minerals your body needs. So, you can enjoy chocolate in the most natural way, while feeling awesome!

The Type of Cacao Products You Should Look For:

• Products must be organic
• Cacao beans with or without skin
• Cacao nibs
• Cacao powder
• Cacao paste
• Cacao butter
• Cacao with fruit, which is sweet dried cacao on the unfermented bean.
• Cacao beverages
• Cacao raw chocolate bars

Look For the Following When Purchasing Cacao to Make Sure You Receive the Highest Quality:

Low Microbe Counts: Foreign microbe/bacteria needs to virtually non-existent on the skin and inner nib. Make sure that the producer uses dry cacao nibs and beans to ensure purity, fine aroma, a purplish-brown colour and fairly large in size. The quality is very important, so that you can enjoy the rich raw chocolate flavour, filled with a powerful aroma without roasting. If you're not sure about these facts, ask the producer or have a look on their online site.

100% Raw and Certified Organic: Purchase the best quality organic cacao to ensure your products have not been harvested by slave labour. A "Fair Trade" certification isn't necessary to indicate the quality or slavery-free cacao coming from Africa.

This post is an item in this series about superfood.

Author : Noah Laith