Cocoa, one of nature’s many miracles, is in
fact the great super-food the populace
seek. Cocoa makes other so-called super-
fruits pale in comparison. Cocoa is a titan
of health benefits, the likes of which
humanity has scarsly known. It is the
profound medicine that scientists and
researchers toil to discover. If cocoa were a
pharmaceutical drug, it would be hailed as
the greatest medicine of all time, and its
discoverer would reap the Nobel prize in
Medicine. Cocoa is all of that. Cocoa is right
out in the open, more protective than any
other food, and more powerful than any
medicine ever devised.
There is sweet irony in the fact that cocoa,
once considered by some self-appointed
health experts to be deleterious to health,
has proven over time to be extraordinarily
beneficial for health indeed. In fact, you
could say that after water, cocoa is the
healthiest known substance you can put into
your body. If this statement seems to over-
reach, consider that no other substance, of
any kind, helps to prevent primary killer
diseases as well as cocoa. In fact, if cocoa
were consumed judiciously and regularly, it
would prove the single greatest life-saving
medication of all time.
But cocoa is a food, and this fact harks back
to the proviso of Hippocrates, “Let food be
thy medicine.” Not only is cocoa a food, but
it is beloved around the world for its
sumptuous flavor, and for the way it
promotes a positive state of mind and mood.
Can cocoa be the greatest medicinal food on
earth? The answer is an unequivocal yes.
Over the past dozen of years or so, a steady
stream of science has emerged, showing that
cocoa and the confection made from it
(chocolate) possess extraordinary life-
imbuing and disease-fighting properties.
Most notably, cocoa demonstrates
significant benefits for the cardiovascular
system, helping to reduce the risk of heart
attack and stroke, reduce the risk of high
blood pressure, and even reduce the risk of
cancer. Furthermore, cocoa consumption is
associated with reduced cognitive decline in
old age.
Cocoa and Your Heart
Cocoa contains over 700 known compounds.
And for all we know, there may be many
more that remain undiscovered. Of
particular interest to scientists are the
antioxidant compounds in cocoa.
Antioxidants are compounds that plants
manufacture to prevent their own cells
from premature destruction due to exposure
to heat, light, air, moisture and time. In the
human body, many of these compounds
prevent reactive oxygen species (ROS) from
destroying cells and causing premature
aging and disease. Cocoa is especially rich in
polyphenols, a group of protective
antioxidant compounds found in many
plant foods such as red wine and tea, and
which are the subjects of scientific
investigation for their beneficial influence
on cardiovascular health. The polyphenols
include anthocyanins, isoflavones,
flavanones, flavonols, flavanols, and
flavones. Of special interest to health
researchers are flavanols in cocoa,
including flavan-3-ols, catechins,
epicatechins and proanthocyanidins. These
naturally-occurring substances not only
protect the cells of our bodies from
premature destruction, but they also help to
reduce the risk of killer diseases.
Cardiovascular disease is the primary killer
of adults. The polyphenols in cocoa are
cardio-protective in two ways. They help to
reduce the oxidation of low-density
lipoproteins (LDL), or so-called ‘bad
cholesterol.” Oxidation of LDL is considered
a major factor in the promotion of
coronary disease, most notably heart attack
and stroke. Additionally, polyphenols
inhibit blood platelets from clumping
together. This clumping process, called
aggregation, leads to atherosclerosis,
hardening of the arteries. By inhibiting
aggregation, polyphenols reduce the risk of
atherosclerosis. Since atherosclerosis is a
major killer of American adults, the
protection provided by the polyphenols in
cocoa is of real value. It can literally mean
the difference between life and death.
Thanks to various studies, we have learned
that tea, apples, onions, and red wine all
help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular
disease, due to their content of beneficial
antioxidant polyphenols. Yet of all foods
known, cocoa has the highest antioxidant
polyphenol content, and provides the
greatest cardio-protection. In fact, no heart
drug, of any kind, comes even close to
imparting the heart benefits of cocoa.
According to work performed at the
Department of Nutrition at University of
California, Davis, cocoa not only inhibits
platelet aggregation, but it thins the blood,
thus slowing coagulation. In healthy
subjects given a strong cocoa beverage,
platelet aggregation was reduced and fewer
microparticles had formed than normal.
Additionally, blood from the subjects took
longer to form a clot than blood from
control subjects. This shows that cocoa
performs the same beneficial anti-clotting
activity as aspirin.
UC Davis researcher Carl Keen noted "Our
work supports the concept that the chronic
consumption of cocoa may be associated
with an improved cardiovascular health;
yet some positive effects can even be
observed on an acute basis." He adds:
"Cocoa and presumably other forms of
chocolate can be part of a healthy diet".
Even small amounts of cocoa can reduce
cholesterol in the blood, and can lower
blood pressure. Even more, regular intake
of cocoa has been shown to improve overall
function of vein and arteries.
Cocoa, Mind and Mood
Another dimension of the benefits of cocoa
and chocolate consumption concerns mood.
Cocoa is rich in agents that enhance the
production of various feel-good chemicals
in the brain, notably serotonin and
dopamine. This means that cocoa possesses
anti-depressant, mood-elevating properties.
This is no surprise to the any millions of
people who self medicate with chocolate
every day.
“The beverage of the gods was Ambrosia;
that of man is chocolate. Both increase the
length of life in a prodigious manner.” - in
Phantastica, Lewis Lewin
Cocoa, that mysterious and exotic rainforest
food from the ancient Maya, provokes a
luxurious, content mood, a serene sense of
sumptuous delight. Cocoa is a Trojan horse,
carrying into the body many hundreds of
natural compounds, some ordinary and
some exotic, which work busily to modify
mood in subtle yet undeniable ways. For a
growing body of scientific investigation has
revealed to some modest extent how and
why cocoa promotes reverie and makes us
feel so good.
“The cocoa drink, or chocolate, has an
additional quality not shared by tea or
coffee. Whereas the latter two retard
metabolism and beneficially stimulate the
nervous system if taken moderately,
chocolate directly nourishes.” – Baron Ernst
von Bibra
As I have previously mentioned, cocoa is a
veritable cornucopia of naturally-occurring
compounds. Of this multitude, the most
comprehensively studied are the
methylxanthines. The two methylxanthines
in chocolate are caffeine and theobromine.
Compared with coffee, cocoa is a poor
caffeine source. According to the Chocolate
Information Center, a 50 gram piece of dark
chocolate will yield between 10 – 60
milligrams of caffeine, as compared with a
5 ounce cup of coffee, which can yield up to
180 milligrams. Nonetheless, cocoa can give
a modest caffeine lift.
“The stimulant effects of cocoa increase
with its theobromine content. The
stimulating action of theobromine is
doubtless far inferior to that of caffeine, but
it exists, although less evident than that of
the latter. “ – Lewis Lewin
Theobromine, the second methylxanthine,
occurs at a concentration of about 250
milligrams in a 50 gram bar of dark
chocolate. Like caffeine, theobromine is a
central nervous system stimulant, though it
is appreciably weaker. But theobromine is a
stronger cardiac stimulant, and a more
potent diuretic. The presence of both
caffeine and theobromine certainly
contribute to the overall mood-modifying
effect of this ambrosial food. But cococa is
not an especially potent stimulant food per
se. Rather, it is a complex cocktail, whose
multitudinous compounds come at the brain
in a thousand ways, creating a delightful
and sensuous chemical soup which tickles
and teases our gray matter, producing a
unique reverie no other substance can
replicate.
“Regarding its physiological effects, it is
most probable that, similar to caffeine in
coffee, theobromine is one of the most
important components of cocoa.” – Baron
Ernst von Bibra
Of the mood-modifying compounds in
cocoa, one is PEA, or phenethylamine. This
chemical, which occurs in chocolate in
small quantities, stimulates the nervous
system and triggers the release of
pleasurable opium-like compounds known
as endorphins. It also potentiates the
activity of dopamine, a neurochemical
directly associated with sexual arousal and
pleasure. Phenethylamine increases in the
brain when we fall in love, and during
orgasm. The giddy, restless feelings that
occur when we are in love are at least
partly due to PEA. This adds a rather
remarkable dimension to cocoa, and may
account for why it is so highly prized. For
while there are a great many agents in
nature which boost libido and enhance
sexual function, chocolate alone actually
promotes the brain chemistry of being in
love. Chocolate is the gift of lovers for this
very reason.
Cocoa is a sensuous delight whose rich
flavor, silky mouth feel and earthy aroma
have captured the palates and imaginations
of people for over three thousand years.
You could make the claim that cocoa is
aphrodisiac by virtue of smell, taste and feel
alone. The recent scientific discoveries
regarding cocoa’s love-enhancing
components only further bolsters the
amorous reputation of this blissful food. For
throughout history lovers have turned to
cocoa to heighten the experience of
lovemaking. The Aztec king Montezuma
reputedly drank a large goblet of the drink
before retiring to his harem. The legendary
Venetian lover and seducer Giovanni
Giacomo Casanova reputedly consumed
cocoa before bedding women, a sport in
which he engaged with tremendous vigor
and frequency, if historical accounts are
even half accurate. From antiquity to the
present, cocoa has been a gift of lovers,
more often given from a man to a woman
than the other way around.
“I bring to you a special drink from far
across the West,
Although it’s nearest loves on whom it’s
said to work the best.
Good cheer it always brings, and your full
years renews.
First take a sip, my dear, and I shall
presently;
And know I serve it to you with all the
warmth that’s due:
For we must take good care to leave
descendants for posterity.”
- a chocolate love poem, late 1700’s
Cocoa additionally boosts a sense of well
being by increasing brain levels of
serotonin, the so-called feel-good brain
chemical. For this reason cocoa provides a
highly desirable mood boost to women
during PMS and menstruation, when
serotonin levels are often down. In fact,
women are consistently more sensitive to
cocoa than men. Women typically
experience stronger cocoa cravings than
men. And for many, cocoa is the perfect
PMS Rx. A little cocoa can restore a feeling
of well being. Interestingly enough, Prozac,
the blockbuster anti-depression drug, also
boosts brain levels of serotonin. But Prozac
is notorious for deadening libido. Just say
no. Better to get your mood lift from love-
promoting cocoa!
“I think that you could call chocolate a soft
drug. It definitely has an effect on your
brain chemistry, on your physiology. I
think that a lot of chocolate consumption is
based on an individual’s need to self
medicate. They feel a need to have a certain
amount of chemicals in their brain soup, in
their cranium, and chocolate does that.” –
Timothy Moley, founder of Chocolove
Yet another constituent in cocoa alters
mental state in pleasurable ways.
Anandamide (whose name derives from the
Sanskrit word ananda, which means bliss),
is a cannabinoid, a member of the same
psychoactive substances found in cannabis.
Anandamide binds to the same receptor sites
in the brain as THC. And its effect?
Anandamide produces a global feeling of
euphoria. This compound may account for
why some people become euphoric or
blissed-out when they eat chocolate. The
brain is a deep and mysterious organ,
whose dark folds and gray crenellations are
barely understood. But tickle the right
neurons, and all heaven breaks loose.
Some scientists question that there are
sufficient quantities of PEA or anandamide
in cocoa to produce euphoria or a
pleasurable mental state. But others are not
so quick to dismiss a highly complex and
chemically-loaded food employed as a
mood-enhancer for centuries. For how
would cocoa develop a long-standing
reputation for enhancing mood, if it had no
effect? Individual chemistry appears to be
key with chocolate, as with almost
everything else. Cocoa may have little
impact on some, but it does make others
swoon. Cocoa is an agent of fine and lovely
reverie, and puts us in reflection of our
highest selves.
Hopefully I have piqued your interest here.
Whatever your previous notions of cocoa
may have been, you will be surprised by
what you learn here. For cocoa, an agent of
sensual delight and nourishment since time immemorial, is the mightiest of protective,
health-imbuing agents. It literally has the
power to transform medicine, and to save
millions of lives. it will blow your mind to note that it is available in Nigeria in exportable quantity.

Before the discovery of oil in naija, cocoa was the major fx earner in naija

as i walk arround finding out from farmers of this great crop called cocoa, the imminent need in the industry is dryer. i found out most of the quality now has mold. a deaease that corrupts the seed due to moisture. that Cocoa sells for N16500 per 64kg, discount for mold, brings further down the price to iether 15 or 16 thousand naira.