In honor of Valentine’s Day, what better topic to talk about than chocolate? There is a sheer pleasure associated with indulging in this deliciously decadent dessert.
Chocolate cravings can actually be traced back to ancient civilizations. Cacao is believed to have originated in the Amazon around 2000 B.C. Archaeologists have uncovered ceramic cups with residue from the preparation of cacao beverages on the Gulf Coast of Mexico from the ancient Olmec Indians. The cacao bean was central to royal and religious traditions of the Mayans and Aztecs: cacao seeds were presented as offerings to the gods (Mayan literature even refers to cacao as the food of the gods). The Aztecs attributed the creation of the cacao plant to the god Quetzalcoatl, who descended from heaven carrying a cacao tree stolen from paradise – this would make cacao the ultimate forbidden treat. So it seems that chocolate has always possessed a certain power over us mortals.
At the time of the Mayans and Aztecs, chocolate was consumed as a bitter-tasting drink made from ground cacao beans mixed with water (or sometimes wine) and seasoned with vanilla, pimiento, or chili pepper. This health elixer was called xocoatl, meaning “bitter water” and believed to cure diarrhea & dysentery and to be an aphrodisiac. In the Mayan tradition, cacao pods symbolized life and fertility. An officer serving with Hernan Cortez is said to have observed Motecuhzoma, the ruler of the Aztecs, drinking 50 cups of xocoatl a day!
Is there anything to be said for this ancient reverence of the health benefits of cacao? Yes ladies, there are legitimate health benefits that have been associated with cacao consumption.
The cacao bean is one of the most concentrated source of flavanoids, namely catechins and epicatechins. Several dietary intervention studies have been conducted in humans and animals showing that flavanol-rich foods and beverages can provide cardioprotective effects:
- Anti-hypertensive: daily doses of dark chocolate have been shown to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure
- Anti-thrombotic: dark chocolate has been shown to reduce collagen-stimulated platelet aggregation (prevents clotting in blood vessels)
- Reduces vascular peripheral resistance: high levels of flavan-3-ols in a cacao drink have been shown to increased flow-mediated dilation and nitric oxide bioactivity (opens up blood vessels)
These studies all provide evidence to the health benefits of cacao. But before you go out and grab your favorite candy bar or oder a molten lava cake for dessert…remember that the benefits of chocolate are associated with polyphenols found in the cacao bean. Therefore, in order to truly experience these cardioprotective effects, choose organic dark chocolate with a high percentage of cacao and low percentage of added sugar (the higher the percentage, the better!). You can also try adding cacao nibs to your yogurt or smoothies – Navitas Naturals carries great organic cacao nibs (or organic cacao powder) for you to try.
**Dark chocolate does tend to be expensive. My roommate gave me the great idea of buying bakers chocolate and breaking it into small pieces (instead of paying for a bag of cacao nibs). If you are willing to pay for a great bar, Theo Chocolate was the first Certified Organic and Fair Trade “bean-to-bar” chocolate factory in North America. They offer a wide variety of chocolate bars that are extremely popular in the Northwest, as the company is based in Washington.
So go ahead and indulge your next chocolate craving! There are some powerful, healing properties associated with the ancient cacao bean.