Cacao Powder: What is it and What Are the Benefits?
Do you have recipes that include cocoa powder? Do you want to add a lovely chocolatey flavor to your smoothies and desserts? Did you know that cacao powder can be a healthier alternative?
As well as tasting great, cacao powder has a lot of other benefits.
Let’s look at what it is, and then why it’s so good for you!
What Is Cacao Powder?
Cacao trees were domesticated some 5,000 years ago in South America and are today grown in equatorial regions all over the world. Cocoa powder and its slightly less-well-known sibling, cacao powder, are both made from the beans of these trees.
Before being processed into cacao powder, cacao beans are fermented then processed.
Chocolate powder is made by heating the cacao beans to extremely high temperatures, resulting in the smooth and sweet flavor we often find in baked goods and hot cocoa.
Although less bitter than cacao, cocoa powder loses a lot of its nutritional value during processing.
And that’s why cacao is so much better for your health.
Cacao Has Many Health Benefits
Cacao powder is rich in flavonoids. These nutrients have been demonstrated to decrease blood pressure, increase brain and heart blood flow, and help avoid blood clots. They may help you reduce the risk of diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity.
Cacao powder is high in potassium which can help reduce the risk of heart disease by decreasing lower body inflammation and cell stress.
The flavonoids in cacao powder can help to reduce inflammation throughout your body. Inflammation reduction may reduce your risk of certain cancers, diabetes, arthritis, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.
High In Antioxidants
Cacao is strong in flavanols (which give it a bitter taste), antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties. It has one of the highest ORAC values, which is a metric for determining the number of antioxidants in food.
Cacao is good for your heart and circulatory system.
It enhances blood flow throughout your body, including the brain, and improves the flexibility of blood vessels.
Add a teaspoon or two of cacao powder to your favorite smoothies for a chocolatey flavor and all the health benefits!
Cacao Powder is Rich In Minerals
Magnesium is important for energy generation and has been linked to a lower risk of diabetes. Cacao has the highest magnesium content of any dietary item. It strengthens your heart, relaxes your muscles, and boosts your cognitive abilities. It is an alkaline mineral that helps in detoxification.
Iron, potassium, zinc, copper, calcium, selenium, phosphorus, and manganese are some of the other minerals that are vital. Sulfur in cacao aids in the transportation of nutrients into and out of cells. It aids in insulin function and glucose metabolism, tissue repair, immune system function, and collagen and keratin synthesis and rebuilding (hair, nails, and skin).
Positive Energy – and Happiness
Cacao’s stimulating properties are due to theobromine, an alkaloid. It stimulates the heart, dilates the blood vessels, and lowers blood pressure. Theobromine provides longer and smoother energy than caffeine, without the peak and fall that many people feel. It has also been reported to help with coughing, asthma symptoms, and tooth enamel hardening.
Yes, cacao makes you happy, relieves tension, and improves your concentration and creativity. Cacao has a good impact on your brain through neurotransmitters and modulators, which work in a sophisticated way.
PEA, a mood regulator contained in cacao, causes happy hormones including endorphins, dopamine, and noradrenaline to be released. This is similar to how we feel when we fall in love. It boosts our focus and energy levels, and it puts us in a state of flow where we lose sight of time. It’s ideal for working or enhancing your creativity. It also boosts libido, reduces anxiety, and is used as a supplement to treat depression symptoms. What better way to get it than from a natural source?
Tryptophan is required for the production of serotonin (which reduces anxiety and stress) and melatonin (which regulates sleep). Cacao is a direct supply while modifying compounds (MAO inhibitors) in cacao slow the breakdown of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, extending and strengthening the action.
What to look out for
A two-teaspoon portion contains roughly 50 mg of caffeine, which is about half of what you would find in a cup of coffee. If you are sensitive to caffeine, you need to keep this in mind.
Though cacao powder is frequently substituted for cocoa powder in recipes, doing so does not automatically make a dish healthier. In dishes including cacao powder, you still have to keep an eye on the amount of sugar and bad fats.
Final Thoughts
Cacao has many health benefits, and pure cacao has the most of them. Different processing techniques, such as alkali (Dutch) processing, pressing cacao (to separate the butter and powder), and high-temperature roasting, destroy the beneficial compounds that make cacao so healthy. This is why, learning from traditional use, it’s always better to buy cacao that is as little processed as possible, for the most health benefits.
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Warm regards,
P.S. Don’t forget to download your FREE recipes for yummy smoothies that will keep you feeling full! Click here.
