Regular consumption of cocoa can bring several health benefits, helping to improve mood, blood circulation, regulate blood sugar levels and protect heart health as it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action.
Cocoa is the seed of the cocoa fruit and is the main ingredient of chocolate, and is characterized by being rich in flavonoids, mainly epicatequines and catechins, composed with antioxidant properties.
To get the benefits, the ideal is to consume 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder per day or 40 g of dark chocolate, which equals approximately 3 squares.
Main benefits
Regular consumption of cocoa can provide several health benefits, being the main ones:
1. Improves mood
Cocoa is rich in theobromine, caffeine, phenylethylamine and tyamine, which is a precursor of tryptophan, which in turn is a precursor of serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter related to mood regulation, heart rhythm, sleep and appetite. In this way, cocoa can help improve mood and combat signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety.
2. Prevents to thrombose
Cocoa helps prevent the development of thrombosis because it helps improve blood flow, which reduces the risk of blood clot formation due to its flavonoid content.
3. Helps regulate cholesterol
Cocoa is rich in antioxidant substances, helping to regulate circulating cholesterol levels, which helps to prevent fat deposition in the vessels, preventing the formation of atheroma plaques and the development of cardiovascular disease.
4. Avoid anemia
Cocoa is rich in iron and, therefore, its regular consumption can help prevent anemia, as iron is essential for hemoglobin formation, which is a red blood cell component responsible for oxygen transport to the body and is usually in smaller amounts in case of anemia.
5. Decreases the risk of diabetes
Some studies indicate that cocoa could make carbohydrate digestion slower at the intestinal level, as well as protecting cells responsible for insulin production in the pancreas and improving insulin secretion. It could also decrease insulin resistance, which helps to decrease the risk of diabetes.
6. Prevents dementia
Cocoa is rich in theobromine, which is a compound with vasodilating activity, favoring blood circulation to the brain, helping to prevent neurological diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s, for example. In addition, cocoa is selenium rich, a mineral that helps improve cognition and memory.
7. Regulates the intestine
Cocoa is rich in flavonoids and catechins that reach the large intestine, which could increase the amount of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus, which are good health bacteria that exert prebiotic effect, helping to improve bowel function.
8. Helps decrease inflammation
Because it is rich in antioxidants, cocoa is able to reduce cell damage caused by free radicals and inflammation. In addition, some studies indicate that cocoa consumption promote the reduction of the amount of blood protein in the blood, which is an indicator of inflammation.
9. Help in weight control
Cocoa helps weight control because it helps to decrease fat absorption and synthesis. In addition, when ingesting cocoa it is possible to have a greater sense of satiety, as it helps regulate insulin, however this benefit is mainly associated with black chocolate and not with milk or white chocolate, as they are rich in sugar and fat and little cocoa.
In addition, cocoa powder should not be consumed along with calcium -rich products such as milk, cheese and yogurt, as it has oxalic acid, a substance that decreases calcium absorption in the intestine, as it is possible to decrease the benefits of cocoa.
10. Reduces blood pressure
Cocoa can also help lower blood pressure as it improves blood vessels by influenced the production of nitric oxide, which is related to the relaxation of these vessels.
11. Avoid premature aging
Due to the presence of flavonoids in its composition, cocoa has antioxidant properties that help eliminate free radicals generated by UV sun rays, which accelerate the process of skin aging, loss of elasticity and the appearance of wrinkles.
12. Prevents cancer
The polyphenols present in cocoa, such as procianidine, epicatequin and catechin, have antioxidant action, preventing free radical oxidation, which can interfere with cells and cause abnormal growth and proliferation, favoring cancer.
13. Controls the appearance of allergies
Some animal studies suggest that cocoa could help to reduce the onset of allergic diseases, as flavonoids present in their composition could help reduce the concentrations of immunoglobulins and blood interleucins, substances responsible for allergic responses. However, more studies are needed that confirm this effect.
Nutritional information
The following table brings the nutritional composition of 100 g of cocoa powder.
Consult the nearest nutritionist to find out the best way to include cocoa in everyday food:
How to eat cocoa fruit
To consume the cocoa fruit you must cut it with a machete to break its bark that is very hard. Then cocoa can be opened and a whitish ‘bunch’ can be observed covered by a very sweet viscous substance, whose interior has the dark cocoa, which is known worldwide.
It is possible to suck only the white gum that surrounds cocoa seed, but you can also chew everything, eating its interior, and the dark part is very bitter and does not look like the chocolate that is so well known.
How chocolate is done
In order for these seeds to be transformed into powder or chocolate, they must be harvested from the tree, dried in the sun and then toasted and wrinkled.
The resulting mass is kneaded until cocoa butter is extracted. This folder is mainly used to make milk chocolate and white chocolate, while pure cocoa is used in manufacturing in dark or bitter chocolate. See the differences and benefits of the main types of chocolate.
Healthy recipes with cocoa
Here are some healthy recipes that can be prepared with cocoa
1.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of brown sugar tea;
- 1 cup of flax flour;
- 4 eggs;
- 6 tablespoons of unsalted margarine;
- 1 ¼ cup of chison powder (150 g);
- 3 tablespoons of whole wheat flour;
- 3 tablespoons of white wheat flour.
Preparation mode:
Melt the butter in a water bath, add the cocoa and move until it is uniform. Beat the egg whites, add the egg yolks and keep hitting until the dough is light.
Add sugar and beat until homogenizing. While mixing slowly with a spatula, add cocoa, wheat and flaxseed until uniform. Bake in preheated oven at 230ºC for about 20 minutes, as the surface should be dry and the inside, moist.
2. Hot chocolate
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of almond milk or other vegetable drink to taste;
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder;
- 1 tablespoon of honey;
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence;
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Preparation mode:
Heat the milk over medical fire until it is hot, but not boiled, and get out of the fire. Then add the cocoa powder, honey and vanilla extract, and mix to all ingredients are incorporated into milk. Hail a few more minutes, sprinkle cinnamon and then serve.
Source: www.tuasaude.com