Cacao Powder Benefits
Cacao powder is produced from cacao beans, with much of the fat content removed, leaving behind many beneficial plant compounds from the cacao seeds. The cacao seed or bean is pod shaped, coming from the fruits of the cacao tree. While the majority of people would consider cacao to be unhealthy, due to its association with chocolate, there are potential health benefits from consuming cacao powder. The potential health benefits from cacao powder are numerous enough for cacao to be considered a superfruit.
The general nutritional content of cacao powder is 20% protein, 26% healthy dietary fibre and 33% other plant compounds or minerals. Cacao powder is quite rich in minerals and contains healthy levels of fatty acids after processing, in addition to plant phytochemicals like flavonoids. These compounds provide cacao powder with many potential health benefits to the body.
As a result of its polyphenol content, the antioxidant capacity of cacao is greater or equivalent to many other fruits. This high antioxidant capacity is also why cacao is considered to be a superfruit and a major reason why cacao powder may have health benefits for the skin. Flavonoid rich chocolate may encourage lowered risk of cardiovascular diseases too.
This is due to specific flavonoids found in chocolate, such as procyanidins. Before processing into cacao powder, the cacao bean is 15% polyphenols. 60% of these are procyanidins, mostly epicatechin and catechin, also found in green tea. Epicatechin is readily absorbed by the body, representing just one of many cacao polyphenols.
We will now take an in depth look into cacao and the potential health benefits resulting from its nutritional content.
Antioxidant Content Of Cacao
We’ve mentioned how strong the antioxidant capacity of cacao is and its status as a superfruit. The analysis of cacao powder shows that it has a better antioxidant potential than blueberry, cranberry and pomegranate powders per gram. The catechin content in cacao is thought to be four times greater than in tea. Current research suggests that this is due to a much richer flavonol content within cacao seeds than other fruits. Flavonols are a group of plant flavonoids. These flavonols may reduce the number of free radicals throughout the body. Free radicals contribute to the development of diseases. Cacao flavonoids may also reduce intestinal inflammation, encouraging more optimal gut health.
Antioxidant flavonols will also have anti-ageing properties, preventing accumulative and systemic inflammatory damage. Free radical molecules can cause a range of issues for the body. These include DNA or cell membrane damage. Cellular damages need repairing and can also lead to premature ageing or cancer events.
The heavy presence of body antioxidants is essential in the protection against carcinogenic or cancer causing events. Cacao polyphenols have been shown to reduce the growth of colonic cancer cells. While cocoa improves intake of tryptophan which also lessens anxiety, improving relaxation and reduces physiological stress too.
Overall, studies show that cacao powder may be able to offer oxidative stress resistance and activate additional anti-inflammatory pathways. Cacao powder may offer preventative health benefits for various conditions.
Cacao Powder Benefits For Skin Health
This is how cacao powder can have wider potential health benefits, including on improving skin health. As strong antioxidants, cacao polyphenols have fatty acid protecting qualities. They will prevent oxidation of fats, providing systemic protection of cell membranes. These polyphenols also reduce overall inflammation in the skin and reduce accelerated skin ageing. Overall, long term cacao powder consumption could produce more youthful looking skin.
Antioxidants promote healthy cellular recovery and can improve levels of other key vitamins too, such as vitamin C. Elevated levels of this core body antioxidants are thought to encourage collagen production, which will improve skin appearance and elasticity too.
Systemic increases in collagen production will also improve whole body recovery from inflammatory damage. This includes oxidative damages to the skin that can be induced through environmental stressors, such as sun damage.
These effects have been observed in topical cacao applications, where skin tone and elasticity were improved. Studies have observed that topical cacao suppressed toxicological effects of dioxins, while protecting the skin from solar oxidative damage.
Eating cacao powder also benefited the skin through improved hydration and improved collagen production. While this study found that there was also a reduced risk of wrinkle development. In this same study, cacao promoted hyaluronic acid production and higher antioxidant status in skin cells. This supports the potential health benefits of cacao powder to the skin.
Heart Protecting Functions Of Cacao
Cacao flavonols, such as proanthocyanins, can be strong antioxidants that stimulate the nitric oxide signalling pathway in blood vessels. This results in blood vessel dilation, improved blood flow and lowered blood pressure. With these body responses, there is a lowered risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Antioxidants can also protect fats from oxidation. Improving consumption of cacao seems to encourage a healthier blood lipid profile. Cacao may lower the levels of oxidized LDL, while raising HDL levels. This also improves overall blood blow, through reduced accumulation of bad fats or plaques in the blood vessels. These influences present another potential benefit of cacao to heart health, as this will reduce the risk of atherosclerotic build up in the blood vessels. While antioxidant compounds in cacao also promote anti-inflammatory signalling pathways, that are also important for cardiovascular health.
These heart protecting effects are due to other important cacao flavonoids called flavan-3-ols and their blood products. One of these heart protecting flavonoid metabolites is epicatechin glucuronide. Cacao powder can have health benefits to the body through antioxidant metabolites, like epicatechin glucuronide, that reduce risks of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis. Cacao powder also may also encourage reductions in body weight, while reducing symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Aphrodisiac Qualities Of Cacao
Because of its powerful antioxidant and nutritional contents, cacao powder is generally considered to be an aphrodisiac. For these reasons it may encourage more optimal reproductive performance. Flavonoid rich cacao reduces blood pressure through nitric oxide vasodilation, which could improve reproductive performance. The consumption of cacao releases phenylethylamine and serotonin which may have aphrodisiac effects. While the high antioxidant content of cacao, due to its rich phenol and zinc content, may also add to these aphrodisiac effects. Antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress, in addition to blood vessel relaxation, producing aphrodisiac effects.
Zinc can modulate levels of testosterone in the body, which in turn effects reproduction. Zinc deficiencies reduce testosterone levels, while zinc sufficiency restores testosterone levels. Higher testosterone levels influence and improve reproductive vigour. This is a key pathway through which cacao powder can have aphrodisiac effects and benefits for more optimal reproductive health.
Cacao Neurostimulation Effects
In addition to aphrodisiac effects, cacao has mild stimulatory effects on the brain. This results from methylxanthine or xanthine molecules in cacao such as caffeine and theobromine. Sometimes they are referred to as plant alkaloid molecules as well. These compounds have a recognised pharmacological effect on the body, stimulating brain cells through adenosine receptor binding. Their quantities are such that they are only very mildly stimulatory. They stimulate fatty acid metabolism and mitochondrial energy production pathways.
Cacao also contains high levels of mineral iron, which improves red blood cell production. This can also be a brain stimulatory molecule, promoting higher blood flow rates and increasing oxygen levels in the blood. Interestingly, cacao also contains high levels of magnesium which is a muscle relaxant and can also encourage blood vessel muscles to relax. This would also improve blood pressure and blood flow. Cacao powder may also be of benefit in improving levels of these key minerals in the body.
Summary
Cacao powder has a reputation as being an unhealthy food. However, when research is considered, this is clearly not the case. There are many different plant compounds in cacao of potential benefit to our health, including procyanidins.
Cacao flavonoids have a high antioxidant capacity and for this reason cacao is considered to be a superfruit. Analysis of cacao powder shows that it has a better antioxidant potential than blueberry, cranberry and pomegranate powders per gram.
As a result of its antioxidant capacity, cacao powder may protect the body from inflammatory conditions and build ups of reactive oxygen species that can cause cancers. Cacao powder is also thought to be able to encourage optimal skin health. This may occur though higher antioxidant status within the body, which naturally provides anti-ageing effects. Reduced skin inflammation and fatty acid oxidation reduces skin ageing.
Studies with cacao powder consumption and topical cacao use confirm this. Cacao seems to improve collagen production, antioxidant status and hyaluronic acid production in the skin. Overall, this reduces the appearance of wrinkles and improves skin hydration.
Cacao powder also seems to influence major risk factors implicated in heart health. Strong antioxidant polyphenols in cacao encourage lowered blood pressure, while cacao may improve HDL levels and reduce plaque build-up in the blood vessels.
Cacao powder may be an aphrodisiac as a result of its effects on testosterone and antioxidant levels in the body. Flavonoid rich cacao can reduce blood pressure, via nitric oxide vasodilation, which may improve reproductive performance. Antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress, in addition to blood vessel relaxation, producing aphrodisiac effects.
Contrary to popular opinion, cacao seems to be a sort of superfruit with some powerful potential health benefits.
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