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Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) beans, also cacao beans, are the fruit that is provided by the cacao or cocoa tree, an evergreen native to South America and the West Indies, but which is also cultivated today in Africa, Ceylon, Samoa, and other locations around the world. The cococa beans are the dried, fermented seeds of the cocoa tree, are about 1 inch long, and considered to be a culinary nut.
Cocoa solids, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter are derived from cacao beans, and these products are used to make chocolate and chocolate-based foods, such as mole sauce. Both chocolate and cocoa contain a high amount of flavonoids, including the antioxidant epicatechin, among others, which are responsible for cocoa’s health benefits.
Nutrients and Health Benefits of Cacao
Cocoa beans have a high antioxidant content and are also an excellent source of magnesium, sulfur, and healthy fats. Antioxidants in cocoa may help reduce blood pressure, improve circulation, enhance digestion, and protect against cell damage from free radicals and thus help protect against heart disease and cancer. Magnesium helps relax muscles and nerves, promotes blood circulation, and strengthens bones.
Cocoa beans also contain theobromine, a chemical related to caffeine that stimulates the central nervous system, relaxes smooth muscles (and is sometimes used to treat asthma), dilates blood vessels, and has diuretic properties. Two other substances in cocoa beans have an effect on mood. Anandamide is called the “bliss” chemical because it makes people feel great when it is released by the brain. The anandamide in cocoa helps the chemical stay in the body longer and improve mood. Phenylethylamine (PEA) is a type of plant-based stimulant that may help improve depression.
Although chocolate is frequently touted as being a good source of antioxidants and flavonoids, raw cocoa beans, powder, and nibs (peeled, crushed cocoa beans) are by far the best sources. Dark chocolate contains lesser amounts of flavonoids because these nutrients degrade during processing. Milk chocolate has even lesser levels of antioxidants, because the addition of whole milk reduces the overall cocoa content while increasing the levels of saturated fat.
A Harvard Medical School research team studied the effects of cocoa and flavanols among Panama’s Kuna Indians, who consume a great deal of cocoa. Compared with their peers living on the mainland, where cocoa is much less popular, the Indians living on the islands had significantly lower rates of heart disease and cancer. Scientists attribute these benefits to enhanced blood flow associated with flavanols in cocoa, advantages that may also improve brain function. (Bayard 2007)
Cocoa and Prostate Health
Some research indicates that cocoa beans have anticancer abilities. In a study published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, a scientific team examined the impact of the antioxidants in cocoa beans, especially beta-sitosterol, against prostate cancer cells. The researchers found that the highest concentrations of beta-sitosterol provided totally inhibited the growth of both metastatic and non-metastatic human prostate cancer cell lines. (Jourdain 2006)
Other Studies of Cocoa
An analysis of cocoa beans published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reported on the levels of the antioxidants epicatechin and catechin. The scientists found that epicatechin levels were 29 percent higher in unripe cocoa beans compared with ripe beans, and that both had the same level of catechin. (Payne 2010) Another study published in the same journal several years earlier reported that cocoa has much higher concentrations of antioxidants than other popular sources, including green tea, black tea, and red wine. (Lee 2003)
Cocoa products are among the richest sources of polyphenols, according to the Phenol-Explorer Database. (Perez-Jimenez 2010) As an example, compared with a regular chocolate bar, which contains about 500 milligrams of antioxidants per 100 grams of chocolate, cocoa nibs contain 10 grams of antioxidants per 100 grams of beans. Cocoa nibs also contain high levels of theobromine.
How To Use Cocoa
Cocoa beans can be used raw or ground into powder that can be used to make tea, as a substitute for coffee, or to add to recipes. Another way to use raw cocoa nibs, which can be included in the diet by adding them to oatmeal or cereal, blending them into smoothies or herbal teas, or including them in trail mix. In its natural form, cocoa rarely causes allergic reactions, unlike chocolate, which some people react to because of dairy and/or chemicals in the chocolate.
Watch video ‘Raw Cacao & The Cacao Health Benefits’
See also
References
Bayard V et al. Does flavanol intake influence mortality from nitric oxide-dependent processes? Ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and cancer in Panama. Int J Med 2007;4(1): 53-58
Jourdain C et al. In vitro effects of polyphenols from cocoa and [beta]-sitosterol on the growth of human prostate cancer and normal cells. Eur J Cancer Prev 2006 Aug; 15(4): 353-61
Lee KW et al. Cocoa has more phenolic phytochemicals and a higher antioxidant capacity than teas and red wine. J Agric Food Chem 2003; 51(25): 7292-95
Payne MJ et al. Impact of fermentation, drying, roasting, and Dutch processing on epicatechin and catechin content of cacao beans and cocoa ingredients. J Agric Food Chem 2010 Oct 13; 58(19): 10518-27
Perez-Jimenez J et al. Identification of the 100 richest dietary sources of polyphenols: an application of the Phenol-Explorer database. Eur J Clin Nutr 2010 Nov; 64 Suppl 3:S112-20
