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Cacao Powder

Cacao

About Cacao Powder

Cacao powder comes directly from cacao beans without all the processing that goes into creating “Cocoa” or chocolate.  Cacao comes from a tree that is native to the Americas.  It’s believed that Cacao has been consumed since 1500 BC.

Nutrition Benefits of Cacao

Cacao is loaded with antioxidants.  Lets put into perspective at how loaded chocolate is.  One way to measure antioxidant density is through something called an ORAC score.  Cacao scores 95,500 mmol per 100g while blueberries (also known for antioxidants) scores 2,400. Many of the antioxidants in cacao are flavonoids, including anthocyanidin.

Nutrition Facts
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This information is not meant to replace your doctor, but to work in tandem with your doctor’s advice. This website makes it easy for you and your doctor to select the best foods and the best smoothie recipes that you should be eating.

My Nutrition Advisor does not diagnose, cure, or treat disease.

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Recipe

Cacao Powder scores well for 17 health goals

This ingredient was scored for various health goals Learn more.

Learn why

Blood Pressure

Recipe Score:100

Learn why

Circulatory System (Cardiovascular)

Recipe Score:100

Learn why

Erectile Dysfunction

Recipe Score:100

Learn why

Diabetes (Type 2)

Recipe Score:98

Learn why

Anemia

Recipe Score:94

Learn why

Fat Loss

Recipe Score:94

Learn why

Thyroid

Recipe Score:93

Learn why

Look Younger

Recipe Score:92

Learn why

Skin Health (Psoriasis, Eczema, etc.)

Recipe Score:92

Learn why

Anxiety

Recipe Score:90

Learn why

Cancer

Recipe Score:90

Learn why

Alzheimers

Recipe Score:90

Learn why

Allergy

Recipe Score:88

Learn why

Liver

Recipe Score:88

Learn why

Athletic Performance

Recipe Score:88

Learn why

Detoxification

Recipe Score:88

Learn why

Lung Cancer

Recipe Score:84

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The Research

Blood Pressure

Blood Pressure: Score 100

Summary:

Contains phenols and flavonols, which have been shown to be beneficial to circulation and blood flow. Cacao has been shown to lower both diastolic and systolic blood pressure and improve the formation of vasodilative nitric oxide. Cacao is associated with a decrease in mortality. It also improves insulin resistance. Chocolate is an ingredient used in a couple of the recipes provided above.

References:
Human Studies:

Study 1 Study 2 Study 3 Study 4 Study 5

Academic Review:

Study 1 Study 2

Circulatory System (Cardiovascular)

Circulatory System (Cardiovascular): Score 100

Summary:

Improves insulin resistance, reduces serum insulin levels and parameters associated with cardiovascular disease risk. Cacao has a positive effect on inflammatory mediators in patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease. It improves endothelial function. It reduces blood pressure and raises nitric oxide levels. It has therapeutic value in the partial prevention of heart remodeling and atrial fibrillation. The Kuna Indians have low rates of heart attack, diabetes and cancer, which may be due to high intake of cacao. Cacao is found in the Ancient Chocolate Superfood Mix.

References:
Human Studies:

Study 1 Study 2 Study 3 Study 4

Academic Review:

Study 1 Study 2 Study 3

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile Dysfunction: Score 100

Summary:

Improves insulin resistance, reduces serum insulin levels and parameters associated with cardiovascular disease risk. Cacao has a positive effect on inflammatory mediators in patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease. It improves endothelial function. It reduces blood pressure and raises nitric oxide levels. It has therapeutic value in the partial prevention of heart remodeling and atrial fibrillation. The Kuna Indians have low rates of heart attack, diabetes and cancer, which may be due to high intake of cacao. Cacao is found in the Ancient Chocolate Superfood Mix.

References:
Human Studies:

Study 1
Study 2
Study 3
Study 4

Academic Review:

Study 1
Study 2
Study 3

Diabetes (Type 2)

Diabetes (Type 2): Score 98

Summary:

Human: Cocoa Flavanols reverse vascular dysfunction in diabetics. The Kuna Indians may have a reduced frequency of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer due to their very high intake of flavanol rich cocoa. It improves insulin resistance, reduces serum insulin levels and parameters associated with cardiovascular disease risk. Animal: Cacao inhibits diabetes induced cataract formation. It may exert potential effects on reducing hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, liver steatosis and related inflammation.

References:
Animal Studies:

Study 1 Study 2

Human Studies:

Study

Academic Review:

Study 1 Study 2

Anemia

Anemia: Score 94

Summary:

Cacao is found in the Ancient Chocolate Superfood Mix.

References:
Academic Review:

Contains iron (66% RDA) Contains magnesium (107% RDA), which may be associated with hemolytic anemia.

Fat Loss

Fat Loss: Score 94

Summary:

Human: Cacao improves insulin resistance, reduces serum insulin levels, and parameters associated with cardiovascular disease. It reduced abdominal circumference and improved cardiovascular disease markers.

References:
Academic Review:

Study

Human Studies:

Study

Thyroid

Thyroid: Score 93

Summary:

Cacao is found in the Ancient Chocolate Superfood Mix.

References:
Academic Review:

Contains magnesium (125% RDA), which Prevents exercise induced reduction in thyroid hormone. Contains selenium (20% RDA), which is related to a healthy thyroid. Low selenium levels in the thyroid tissue may increase thyroid cancer risk. Selenium may reduce antithyroid peroxidase antibodies’ levels in patients with Hashimoto disease. In areas with selenium deficiency there is a higher incidence of thyroiditis due to a decreased activity of selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity within thyroid cells. Low serum selenium was associated with a larger thyroid volume and a higher prevalence of thyroid enlargement. Contains zinc (45% RDA). A deficiency may contribute to thyroid cancer and increase thyroid volume. It prevents exercise induced reduction of thyroid hormones and testosterone.

Look Younger

Look Younger: Score 92

Summary:

Animal: Cacao may increase life span and exhibits metal chelating properties. It may protect the skin from sun aging damage. In Vitro: Cacao has anti-wrinkle, skin-whitening and sunscreen effects.

References:
Animal Studies:

Study 1 Study 2

Lab Studies:

Study

Skin Health (Psoriasis, Eczema, etc.)

Skin Health (Psoriasis, Eczema, etc.): Score 92

Summary:

Animal: Cacao may increase life span and exhibits metal chelating properties. It may protect the skin from sun aging damage. In Vitro: Cacao has anti-wrinkle, skin-whitening and sunscreen effects.

References:
Animal Studies:

Study 1 Study 2

Lab Studies:

Study 1

Anxiety

Anxiety: Score 90

Summary:

Cacao contains Anandamide, (aka the “bliss chemical”) which is a neurotranmitter often produced in your brain. Anandamide has been associated with improving motivation and increasing pleasure. A human study concluded that “Our results indicate that anandamide participates in the modulation of emotional states and point to fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibition as an innovative approach to anti-anxiety therapy.”

References:
Human Studies:

Study 1

Cancer

Cancer: Score 90

Summary:

Human: Cacao potentially inhibits angiogenesis. The Kuna Indians may have a reduced frequency of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer due to their very high intake of cacao. Animal: It has anti-lymphoma properties. Cacao may merit further clinical investigation as a chemo-preventive agent that helps prevent colitis associated cancer. Cocao polyphenols protect rats from prostate cancer. It is cytotoxic to a broad range of human cancer cell lines. It has cytotoxic MCF-7 cancer cells but not in normal cells.

References:
Human Studies:

Study 1

Academic Review:

Study

Animal Studies:

Study 1 Study 2 Study 3 Study 4

Lab Studies:

Study 1 Study 2

Alzheimers

Alzheimers: Score 90

Summary:

It reduces neuronal cell death in a manner relevant to Alzheimer’s disease. It holds promise in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.

References:
Human Studies:

study 1

Lab Studies:

Study 1

Academic Review:

Study 1

Allergy

Allergy: Score 88

Summary:

A cocoa enriched diet helps prevent anti-allergen IgE synthesis.

References:
Animal Studies:

Study 1

Liver

Liver: Score 88

Summary:

Animal: It may exert potential effects on ameliorating hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, liver steatosis and related inflammation.

References:
Animal Studies:

Study

Athletic Performance

Athletic Performance: Score 88

Summary:

Contains epicatechin, which has been shown in an animal study to induce metabolic and structural changes in skeletal and heart muscles resulting in greater endurance capacity. Cacao is found in the Ancient Chocolate Superfood Mix.

References:
Animal Studies:

Study

Detoxification

Detoxification: Score 88

Summary:

Animal: Cacao may increase life span and it exhibits metal chelating properties.

References:
Animal Studies:

Study

Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer: Score 84

Summary:

Animal: It may be a chemopreventative agent that helps prevent colitis associated cancer.

References:
Animal Studies:

Study

How Our Scoring System Works

For each health goal, we assigned a score to each recipe and each ingredient. This helps you better understand the correlation that medical research is suggesting between foods and benefits to various health goals. Our scoring system is based on REAL RESEARCH published on pubmed.gov. This is a website that curates over 25 million different biomedical journals.

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What we consider when creating your scores:

  • 1Type of Study (human, animal, lab, or academic review)
  • 2Amount of Research
  • 3What the Research Says
  • 4How much of the ingredient we use (for the recipes)
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