SuperFood: Raw Chocolate Nibs

What are raw chocolate nibs?

Raw chocolate nibs are pieces of the Cacao Bean (also called a seed or a nut of the cacao fruit, see below) and are a gourmet dark chocolate. In the picture to the right you can see the dark cacao beans exposed from the white cacao butter that surrounds them inside the cacao pod.

All chocolate is made from Cacao Beans (also known as Cocoa Beans). Cacao is chocolate and the raw cacao nibs are just broken up pieces of the cacao bean! Because cacao beans are the seed within a fruit, they are botanically a nut. All the antioxidant value, mineral benefits, neurotransmitter rejuvenating properties, and overall health-giving qualities of chocolate are found in raw Cacao! No sugar, no dairy, no chemicals. Just one ingredient: cacao (chocolate!).

The raw cacao bean is one of nature's most fantastic superfoods due to its mineral content and wide array of unique and varied properties. Since many of the special properties of cacao are destroyed or lost by cooking, refining, and processing, we feel that planet Earth's favorite food is still unknown to most of us. Raw cacao is the finest gourmet dark chocolate that exists!

Processed chocolate (99.9-100% of the chocolate at the grocery store) is cooked and contains rancid fatty acids and trans fats that lead to heart disease (see David Wolfe's video below). Even highly commercial chocolate nibs have been roasted (by companies like Dagoba in that pretty brown packaging.) Well don't be fooled by packaging! You definitely want to eat your cacao nibs raw, and now we get to reconnect with the power of real chocolate by eating raw chocolate nibs. As David Wolfe says in the video below: "In the age of information where all knowledge becomes available there are no more secrets... This is the age we have all been waiting for, for 1000's of years! We get to see exactly what parts of our diet, (which comes through tradition, behavioral patterns, and some of it through thoughtfulness), what parts we want to keep, and what we want to throw out."

Well now we have the information and thoughtfulness to throw out all cooked, processed chocolate, and for the first time for most of us, connect with the real cacao bean as nature intended. You won't believe what you've been missing!

Here's why raw chocolate is superior and out of this world incredible:

With Cacao Nibs (raw chocolate nibs) there is fantastic hope for chocoholics everywhere! You can turn cravings for cooked, processed, chocolate into super-nutrition with raw chocolate. Cacao Nibs are extraordinarily nutritious and Raw Cacao is the Best Natural Food Source of the Following Nutrients:

Magnesium: Cacao seems to be the #1 source of magnesium of any food. Magnesium is one of the great alkaline minerals. It helps to support the heart, brain, and digestive system (it fights constipation). Magnesium is also important for building strong bones. This is likely the primary reason women crave chocolate during the monthly cycle. Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and is associated with more happiness. Magnesium is the most deficient major mineral on the Standard American Diet (SAD); over 80% of Americans are chronically deficient in Magnesium! Cacao(raw chocolate nibs) have enough magnesium to help reverse deficiencies of this mineral.

Iron: Cacao contains 314% of the U.S. RDA of iron per 1 ounce (28 gram) serving. Iron is a critical mineral in nutrition. Iron is part of the oxygen carrying protein called hemoglobin that keeps our blood healthy.

Chromium: Chromium is an important trace mineral that helps balance blood sugar. Nearly 80% of Americans are deficient in this trace mineral. Cacao has enough chromium to help reverse deficiencies in this mineral.

Anandamide: Anandamide (The Bliss Chemical) is an endorphin that the human body naturally produces after exercise. Anandamide has only been found in one plant  Cacao. Anandamide is known as "The Bliss Chemical" because it is released while we are feeling great. Cacao contains enzyme inhibitors that decrease our bodies' ability to breakdown anandamide. This means that, when we eat cacao, natural anandamide and/or cacao anandamide may stick around longer, making us feel good longer.

Theobromine: Cacao usually contains about 1% theobromine. Theobromine is an effective anti-bacterial substance and kills streptococci mutans (the primary organism that causes cavities). Theobromine is a chemical relative of caffeine but is not a nervous system stimulant. Theobromine dilates the cardiovascular system making the heart's job easier. This is one of the major reasons why cacao and raw chocolate nibs are an important part of a heart healthy diet.

Antioxidants: Cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world. These antioxidants include polyphenols, catechins, and epicatechins. BY WEIGHT, RAW CACAO HAS MORE ANTIOXIDANTS THAN RED WINE, BLUEBERRIES, ACAI, POMEGRANATES, AND GOJI BERRIES COMBINED.Raw cacao has 540% MORE antioxidant power than organic Blueberries!

Manganese: Manganese is an essential trace mineral. Manganese helps assist iron in the oxygenation of the blood and formation of hemoglobin. Interestingly, manganese is also concentrated in tears.

Zinc: Zinc is an essential trace mineral. Zinc plays a critical role in the immune system, liver, pancreas, and skin. Additionally, zinc is involved in thousands of enzymatic reactions throughout the human body.

Copper: Copper is an essential trace mineral. Copper is found naturally in plants with vitamin C. In the human body, copper helps to build healthy blood.

Vitamin C: Cacao must be raw to contain vitamin C. All cooked and processed chocolate has no vitamin C. A one ounce (28 gram) serving of Raw Cacao Nibs supplies 21% of the U.S. RDA of Vitamin C.

Omega 6 Fatty Acids: Cacao contains essential omega 6 fatty acids. All cooked and processed chocolate contains rancid omega 6 fatty acids (trans-fat) that can cause an inflammatory reaction when one eats cooked chocolate.

Phenethylamine (PEA): Phenylethylamine (PEA) is found in abundance in cacao. Because PEA is heat sensitive, much of the PEA in conventional cooked and processed chocolate is missing. PEA is the chemical that we produce in our bodies when we fall in love. This is likely one of the main reasons why love and chocolate have such a deep connection. PEA also plays a role in increasing focus and alertness.

Tryptophan: Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is transformed into important stress-protective neurotransmitters including serotonin and melatonin. Tryptophan is heat sensitive and therefore it is cooked out  in many high protein foods and in conventional processed chocolate.

Serotonin: Serotonin is the primary neurotransmitter in the human body. Serotonin is similar in its chemistry to tryptophan and melatonin. Serotonin helps us build up our stress defense shield.

Does Cacao (raw chocolate nibs) Contain Caffeine?

Contrary to popular opinion, cacao is a poor source of caffeine. A typical sample of raw chocolate nibs or cacao beans will yield anywhere from zero caffeine to 1,000 parts per million of caffeine (less than 1/20th of the caffeine present in coffee).

In February 2008, Dr. Gabriel Cousens discovered in clinical tests on healthy people that Cacao does not elevate blood sugar in the same way as a caffeine containing food or beverage. In fact, Dr. Cousens found that cacao has less of an effect on blood sugar than nearly any other food.

What is Cacao?

Cacao is the seed (nut) of a fruit of an Amazonian tree that was brought to Central America during or before the time of the Olmecs. Cacao Beans were so revered by the Mayans and Aztecs that they used them as money!

In 1753 Carl von Linnaeus, the 18th-century Swedish scientist, thought that cacao was so important that he named the genus and species of this tree himself. He named this tree: Theobroma cacao, which literally means "Cacao, the food of the gods."

Cacao beans (raw chocolate nibs) contain no sugar and between 12% and 50% fat depending on variety and growth conditions. Sunfood Nutrition!" cacao beans are around 40% fat content (low compared to other nuts). There is no evidence to implicate cacao bean consumption with obesity. Cacao is actually one of the great weight loss foods because within its extraordinary nutrition profile it contains the minerals and molecules that shut off the appetite.

*Much of this information on raw cacao and raw chocolate nibs was taken from Sunfood.com.