CACAO
by Daphne Lambert
Rituals and ceremonial grade cacao
Cacao has been used as a medicine, food and important part of rituals in Central & South America for centuries. Today different types of cacao ceremonies have been adopted into many western practices and are used to improve overall health and mental wellbeing.
You can find out more about cacao rituals here:
https://ritualcacao.co.uk/about-us
and source ceremonial grade cacao here
https://www.forevercacao.co.uk/products/100-ceremonial-grade-cacao
Brain function and mental wellbeing
Be it ceremonial grade or good quality minimally processed dark chocolate cacao contains nutrients that support health as well as many compounds that enhance brain function & cognition & improve mood & symptoms of depression.
Cacao stimulates the brain to release neurotransmitters that in turn can trigger positive emotions.
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Cacao also contains anandamide, a natural euphoric compound. This means that cacao can act as a natural mood enhancer
Phenyl ethylamine, which is found in cacao, combines with dopamine to produce a mild antidepressant effect.
depression
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/dark-chocolate-depression
cognitive performance
https://www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19056649/
stress and cacao
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25780358/
mood-and-cognitive-performance-during-sustained-mental-effort
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269881109106923
Best chocolate brand
Taking the environment, people, animal welfare, politics, company ethos and product sustainability all into consideration Ethical Consumer Magazine rated Pacari chocolate the best all round chocolate to buy (Cadbury, Nestle & ASDA were brands to avoid)
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org
How much is too much?
Cacao can be hugely beneficial to health however that does not mean binging on cacao is a good. Best to limit consumption to 40g a day and this should be either ceremonial grade cacao, raw cacao powder, cacao nibs or best quality chocolate without the addition of extra fat, sugar or milk.
If you are sensitive to caffeine remember there is caffeine in cacao. There is also theobromine, which along with caffeine can affect sleep.
The definitive book on cacao
And I mean definitive, everything you could possibly want to know and plenty more besides is in this impressive book.
The Secret Life of Chocolate - Marcos Patchett 2020
more about the book http://thesecretlifeofchocolate.com
more about Marcos Pratchett http://nocturnalherbalist.com/v2/
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