Health benefits of cocoa

The ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures used cocoa for many medicinal purposes including treatment of pain, fevers and coughs.

Today it is known that theobromine, the main xanthine found in cocoa, relaxes the smooth muscle in the digestive tract while both caffeine and thebromine can combat fatigue and provide an energy boost.

Both theobromine and caffeine have diuretic and vasodilatory properties. Theobromine has a similar action to caffeine, but a much milder effect on the central nervous system.  Theobromine delivers a slower release and longer lasting boost, without the sudden drop and addictive properties compared to caffeine.

Theobromine is toxic to dogs and cats and other animals, so never leave cocoa or chocolate withing reach of your pets.

Antioxidant Powerhouse

Cocoa is naturally loaded with polyphenols and procyanidins both of which have beneficial effects on the body's cardiovascular system by lowering blood pressure, anti-inflammatory properties, reducing platelet aggregation, increasing the HDL/LDL ratio and reducing LDL oxidation.

Studies have shown that as soon as 30 minutes after eating one 40 gram serving of dark chocolate, blood levels of the two main antioxidants in chocolate, epicatechin and catechin, are heightened.  They peak two hours after consumption and are cleared from the body after about six hours. Antioxidants work by protecting your cells from damaging molecules called free radicals.
Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that can trigger changes in the structure of normally healthy cells.  This damage is believed to be an underlying cause of many chronic diseases. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals.

Polyphenols are a large class of molecules found in fruits and vegetables like oranges, soybeans and berries.  Dark chocolate and cocoa are particularly high in a sub-class of those compounds called flavanols, which are also found in red grapes and tea.

The reason dark chocolate and cocoa powder rank so high is that the antioxidants are very concentrated.  Around 12-16% of the weight of dry raw cocoa beans consists of polyphenols alone.

Mineral rich
The table below shows the amount of minerals and other compounds that are found in cocoa powder on average.  These amounts may vary depending on a number of factors including fermentation, soil quality, ripeness when cocoa pods are picked, cocoa processing methods and food preparation processes.

Cocoa naturally contains high levels of magnesium, potassium, manganese, copper, phosphorus and calcium which are all important for good health.

One average dark chocolate bar (70% cocoa content) provides nearly 12 percent of your daily requirement for magnesium, which may be important for people at risk of several chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and restless leg syndrome.