Cacao

Feb 17
08:39

2010

Marilyn_Reid

Marilyn_Reid

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Is cacao the same as cocoa? Generally cacao refers to the raw material from which we derive chocolate.

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There are two things I need in this world. Oxygen and chocolate. Okay,Cacao Articles maybe not quite, but it is up there and I wouldn’t want to do without. I know something is up when the news informs me that research now says that chocolate is good for me. It’s always been my guilty pleasure, but now it’s a way for me to take care of my health? I’m delighted beyond words, as I picture myself indulging in the name of heart health. A stroll even through Wal-Mart is an eye opener, as the candy aisle has recently begun to sport about twenty different kinds of chocolate. So what is it about the derivation of cacao that has caused the news media and science to aide me in my quest for the consumption of the food of the gods?
 Is cacao the same as cocoa? Well sort of. Generally cacao refers to the raw material from which we derive chocolate. When we, traditionally, speak of cocoa or chocolate, we refer to the end product of cacao. “'Cacao' is the closest word we have to the original Nahuatl, Aztec word, which probably has a history going back a thousand years or more,” according to Martin Christy, British chocolate lecturer. (Was I the only one who didn’t know there were things like chocolate lecturers?) The words, however, are more or less interchangeably used. Those in the field habitually use cacao to reference the botanical species, tree, the plant parts (pods, beans, etc) and cocoa the processed material from the cacao. There are, of course, some purists who refuse to use the word chocolate at all, blaming chocolate and cocoa on bad British pronunciations.
So why has this little bean made so much commotion in the news lately? Cacao is rich in antioxidants and high in flavonoids. The darker the chocolate, the more research has shown it to benefit the heart.  In research done on heart patients, the sticky stuff (platelets) that sticks to the insides of your arteries, which is exacerbated by stress, was shown to be severely reduced within two hours after consuming dark chocolate (Flamer, Herman, et al, 2007). This same research indicated that even in healthier individuals who have other risk factors, smokers, for example, a reduction in factors we associate with coronary disease was seen.  Only real cacao works. The control group in the study, haven been given cacao free chocolate showed no decreases in artery diameter and no reduction of platelets.
So, what are flavonoids and antioxidants and why do we need them? Flavonoids are a type of antioxidants, a “superfood” (http://www.healthyfoodrawdiet.com/cacao), if you will. However, according to Dr. Donald R. Buhler and Dr. Cristobal Miranda of the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University, “dietary intake [of flavonoids] is quite high compared to other dietary antioxidants like vitamins C and E.” Overall, we begin to rust from the day we are born; we oxidize and there is little we can do about it. Antioxidants keep that rust at bay, as it were. They are, in many respects, the eternal fountain of youth, giving our bodies the materials it needs to counteract the side effects of living and breathing and aging. And, given that I can’t think of a yummier antioxidant than cacao, I will be quite happy to continue a good, medicinal dosage!