Prevents heart diseases, has positive influence on cardiovascular system
Lowers the risk of sclerosis changes
Helps with focusing and concentration
Supports brain blood supply and improves short-term memory
Improves the brain functioning with the elderly and/or cognitive disorders caused by fatigue or lack of sleep
Has antidepressant properties, helps with a positive viewpoint of reality
Improves our mood, influences our creativity and boosts efficiency and concentration ability
Supports energy after physical and mental effort
Perfect antioxidant protecting our cells from damage, it soothes the effects of PMT
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT AND ITS PRESENCE
It looks like life without chocolate is no life at all. There is no man who has not even once tasted the queen of all sweets or had a glass of cocoa. Chocolate is extremely popular – it holds reign in markets all around the world. The leadership that chocolate has, is second to none. Everybody knows chocolate. But who really knows where that world famous delicacy comes from?
Cacao tree is a very interesting plant. Its leaves grow all year round. Flowers grow in bunches straight out of the trunk (rarity in the world of nature). Covered with a thick shell, the fruits resemble rugby ball. The tree fruits all year, and the fruits need five months to ripen. They change their color from green to gold, orange to red, and in the end turn purple. Deep in its nicely-smelling white flesh there lie 20 – 60 oval (cca 3cm) seeds. It is the food of gods – as the Indians say. Those are the precious cocoa seeds, from which cocoa butter and cocoa pulp are made. Then there is cocoa powder from which chocolate and cocoa drinks are made. Yet, before that happens, the ripe fruits are formed into heaps and covered for 4 -7 days – the fermentation begins. After being removed from the flesh, the seeds undergo secondary fermentation which aims at reducing the bitter and tart taste.
Then, the seeds are carefully dried, most often in the sun which protects them against the mould. That natural and organic process guarantees the purity of the produce and simultaneously makes them ready to be consumed.
The seeds of cocoa are protected by thin, hard shell, which is inedible. Thus, they are mildly roasted and peeled. The clean seeds are ground into thick pulp. The pulp undergoes the process of pressing, thanks to which we obtain clear, aromatic, valuable mass – cocoa butter. The remains of pressing process, which still contain a lot of cocoa butter, undergoes secondary pressing or is being ground again. The powder which is the result of that is used for chocolate production or is used for making the popular drink – cocoa. The more butter remains in the cocoa pulp the more of value it is. Multiple pressing reduces its value and bereaves it of precious compounds.
CURATIVE PROPERTIES
Ever since one can remember, the seeds of cocoa were of great value. Mayan and Aztecs valued the seeds more than gold. As time went by, and they became famous all around the world, science took a closer look upon the secrets of its miraculous work – the biochemical content. The seeds of cocoa are a mixture of all nutrients necessary for healthy metabolism and are ahead of the pack when it comes to the content of minerals. The compounds they contain have great influence on both the physical and mental state.
Nothing in this world is a better source of magnesium, iron, kalium, chromium, calcium. They are all well absorbed by the body. It is also one of the best sources of manganese, zinc, cuprum.
It contains vitamins A, E, and also ones from B group. It is one of the best sources of vitamin C. However, chocolate does not contain that one because the high temperature of production destroys it.
The raw cocoa also includes fatty acids Omega 6 and amino acids. It is worth to mention tryptophan, which boosts the production of serotonin – a substance responsible for good mood, which gives you the feeling of content and happiness. Therefore, it is a great way of fighting stress and depression. It protects the heart, improves the blood circulation and blood oxygenation, it increases the efficiency of the mind, relaxes muscles, and makes them more flexible. (It can help to understand why in a stressful situation we often reach out for chocolate, and often we do that subconsciously).
It also contains really valuable flavonoids, and polyphenols, which protect our blood circulation system and the heart against diseases. Yet, because of the bitter taste they are removed from chocolate and other products containing cocoa. Only pure cocoa contains them in a natural state.
The seeds of cocoa tree also contain, bigger than in any other food product, concentration of easily absorbed antioxidants. Those are able to reach the cells in half an hour. They protect our DNA against being damaged, and the body against viruses, cancer, many different illnesses, and ageing.
It also has tonic, revitalizing, regenerating, and ant-ageing properties. The full and valuable source of those beneficial substances are clear, unprocessed seeds of cocoa in their natural form, or in the form of pressed cocoa pulp, or cocoa powder. It is important to consume them in this very form, because only that guarantees the full scope of its beneficial properties. (It is worth to mention, that a huge number of people suffer from the lack of magnesium, so the seeds of cocoa are the best way of providing the missing element).
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CHOCOLATE
Best chocolate or cocoa is the one from which the cocoa butter has not been pressed out, or has been pressed out just partly. Best chocolate in the world contains not only pure, natural, cocoa pulp, but are also enriched with some of the cocoa butter. That makes chocolate immensely delicate in taste and exceptionally nutritious. Of course, the best chocolate is the one processed the least, they are bitter, and contain a lot of cocoa. However, the flavonoids present in it are bitter and thus are often removed from chocolate products. The fat present in the chocolate does not go rancid, therefore to produce pure bitter chocolate, the preservatives are not used. In other chocolates the taste is improved by many different additives such as sugar, milk, flavor-enhancing substances, and so on. As a result the properties of valuable components are diminished. Most of the chocolate present on the market is unfortunately already so processed, that it does not even contain a fraction of the qualities of the real, raw seeds of cocoa. Its dark color is no guarantee of beneficial effects on health, as it has many times turned out that producers are adding the color in the artificial way. That is why, when buying chocolate pay attention not to the color, but to the cocoa content.
HOW TO USE COCOA SEEDS?
They can be in a form of whole, not decorticated seeds, or ones which are decorticated and crumbled.
They can be consumed raw, as bitten carefully (a slight taste of bitterness which can be sensed at first, will soon be replaced by unmatched, undisturbed, ideal taste of true chocolate), they taste well as eaten along with other fruit, be that fresh or dried, and/or with nuts.
The crumbled cocoa seeds are also a perfect addition to both fruit and vegetable salads. They give them sophisticated taste. They can be an addition to muesli, cereal, cornflakes, porridge, rice with fruits, pancakes, and so on. They can also be used as sprinkles for a number of desserts, cakes, baked goods, or ice-cream.
When you grind them, they can be mixed with the yoghurt, used for making a drink – hot cocoa, or cool cocktails. Seeds of cocoa in honey are a delicacy in Mexico.
FUN FACT
The seed of a cocoa tree was already known 1500 years BC. The Mayans and the Aztecs used it for making a nutritious drink, which soon turned into a real cult of chocolate. The ground seeds were mixed with water, honey, maize flour, and chili. That drink was destined mainly for rulers, aristocracy, and the participants of the religious ceremonies. The custom of chocolate consumption was soon copied from the Mayans by the Aztecs, yet they used to drink it cool with the addition of pepper, vanilla, and dried flower petals, which gave the drink multiple colors. In Mexico, the seeds of cocoa were used as money, and the Mayans were colleting the seeds as tax.
The exceptional influence of cocoa on cardiovascular system was confirmed by a number of researches.
“Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology” argues that the daily consumption of natural cocoa that includes high content of flavonoids can greatly improve the functioning of blood vessels with the same result as the statins therapy. Polyphenols and flavonoids present in chocolate: catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidin prevent blood clots, lower the risk of sclerosis changes, they prevent toughening of arteries by reducing the muscle tension around arteries, they improve the functioning of blood circulation, they loosen the blood vessels and make blood flow easy, they neutralize the ‘so called’ bad cholesterol, and prevent forming of blood clots which can block the vessels. The high content of magnesium in the seeds of cocoa boosts the strength of the heart muscle, can reduce blood coagulability, and the probability of obstruction and stroke.
Daily consumption of one third of a bar of chocolate protects you from heart diseases. However, it is best for our body if we consume pure, unprocessed seeds or the pulp form them.
