Kuna Cocoa Is Good For Your Health- Here"s How!

If someone said to you “chocolate can be great for your health” you might look at them in a strange way and laugh. It’s a fact that we think many things about chocolate – but probably never that it is a health food. There are a number of health concerns that are brought up with standard chocolate that you buy in stores – you could probably think of a few of them yourself. One is clearly that it is very high in sugar, and any doctor will tell you that sugar is something you need to cut back on. Another is the increased levels of fat – no-one is championing eating lots of fat as a good idea.

 

There are also many other noted problems with store bought chocolate that are less obvious. This includes that fact that it uses cocoa butter, which can be problematic because it contains around 25 per cent palmitic acid and studies have shown that high levels of palmitic acid are linked to an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. It doesn’t seem so much like a health food. And yet, it has been clear for a long time that the cacao bean does have some very positive aspects for your health. But is it possible to unlock them if we are so used to store bought chocolate with the associated problems.

 

As it turns out it is true that we can. It comes to us via the Kuna Indians, and if you’ve never heard of them, you’re not alone. They live on a group of islands that is close to Panama. The Kuna people have been shown to have an impressively low average blood pressure – a clear sign of good cardiovascular health. It is also true that they do not seem to experience the same age-related increase in blood pressure that we do in Western societies. Perhaps even more crucially, death rates from cardiovascular disease and cancer (which are the top killers in Western societies) have been shown to be virtually nil among the Kuna people. As an example, in America it was reported that for every 100,000 people 83 died from cardiovascular disease and 68 from cancer. Amongst the Kuna people,  just 9 and 4 respectively died from these diseases.

 

It is clear, then, that something is improving the health of the Kuna people. There have been many theories regarding this including the relatively low average age of the Kuna, but these reasons have all been shown to be inconclusive. However, there is one reason that is has been thought to improve their health. The Kuna consume more than four cups of cocoa-based drink every day. This cocoa is not the store bought kind, but is locally grown and has not been fermented or roasted. The Kuna make their drink by grinding raw cacao beans and then boil them with banana. It is thought that this method of producing a cocoa drink actually removes some of the problems for health and allows the Kuna to enjoy the clear benefits of cocoa.

 

As these beans are very difficult for you to come across, you’ll need to make your own drink and you can order raw, organic cacao beans that would still retain the same benefits that the Kuna use. Clearly it is true that more research into this is required to see if the affects can be proven to come from the cocoa drink but if it can it could give researchers a way to look for new ways to eliminate the problems of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Categories: blood pressure, cacao beans, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cocoa, cocoa drink, Health Food, kuna, kuna people, palmitic acid, western societies

The Secret to Improving Your Wellness: Eat More Chocolate

It’s good news for chocolate addicts everywhere: eating chocolate could be good for your wellness! Recent research has found that those who include chocolate or cocoa as part of their diet and nutrition actually had improved wellbeing in many different ways.

 

The cocoa-drinking peoples of Central America, such as the Kuna Indians of Panama, were the target of the research. Scientists found that these people, who drink cocoa as their main daily beverage, had very low blood pressure indeed. As high blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke and heart disease, this is a very positive thing and reflects well on the beneficial effects of cocoa.

 

Chocolate is made from cocoa, and is a sweetened form of the food. Dark chocolate in particular is thought to be a great source of antioxidants, zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium and phosphorous. As well as blood pressures studies (which need further work to be conclusive) many other health benefits have been claimed regarding chocolate.

 

Some studies have shown, for example, that a diet rich in cocoa could help to protect the body against bowel cancer. Again, the research done in this area is very patchy, and further work would need to be done to prove that chocolate can have a strongly beneficial effect.

 

A study was also conducted into the effects of chocolate on stress levels. Whilst the study, which involved 30 healthy people being given 40g of dark chocolate each day for two weeks, seemed to show a reduction in their stress levels, critics have argued that the fact that it was carried out by a major chocolate manufacturer has made it biased, and that the results cannot be trusted.

 

Overall, any beneficial effects of chocolate do have to be weighed against the fact that chocolate is high in sugar and fat, two substances that can harm the health of the human body in several other ways.

Categories: beneficial effects, benefit, Blood, blood pressure, chocolate, cocoa, health, nbsp, Research, Stress Levels

Drink from the Fountain of Youth: Your Anti-Ageing Bar Tab

Although ageing is an unavoidable part of life, that doesn’t mean you should simply let nature take its course, come what may. Just because the years are adding up, it doesn’t mean your wellness problems have to as well, and luckily you can order a mixer of anti-ageing power the next time you visit the bar.

 

If you’re a woman who only drinks one glass of alcohol a day, or a man who drinks two, you may be warding off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Though scientists aren’t sure why, drinking in moderation helps to prevent the gaps that form when brain cells die as we age, which means your brain can transmit nerves more efficiently. However, in high doses, alcohol kills brain cells, leading to brain damage and, potentially, permanent memory loss.

 

For you tee-totallers, there’s always grapefruit juice! The pink-red hue of pink grapefruit juice comes from lycopene, and according to a study published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, this is a carotenoid that’ll keep your skin smooth. Likewise, soya milk helps your skin to stay looking firmer and less wrinkly, as a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that the high levels of isoflavones in soya milk may help to preserve collagen, which is responsible for keeping your skin firm.

 

There has been a surge in the popularity of green tea in recent years, and with good reason. Green tea is full of potent antioxidants that help suppress inflammation, which fights the ageing process because chronic inflammation can lead to, or become a side effect of, many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, cancer and stroke. However, don’t forget that good old-fashioned water prevents bad breath and cavities, as well as providing you with a whole host of other health benefits.

 

Finally, if you fancy something a bit cosier, choose cocoa. Off the coast of Panama, the Kuna people of the San Blas islands have a rate of heart disease that is nine times less than that of those on the mainland Panamanians, because they drink large quantities of a beverage made with generous proportions of cocoa. Cocoa is unusually rich in the flavanols that help preserve the healthy function of blood vessels, and by taking care of your blood vessels, you can lower your risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and dementia.

Categories: cocoa, grapefruit juice, green tea