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Showing posts from September, 2017

Cacao Benefit for Skin Care

September 28, 2017

Cacao (pronounced ka-cow) is the raw bean that is roasted and often fermented to make the chocolate you know and love. However, during these processes, the nutrients and antioxidants naturally found in cacao are weakened, all the while making the delicious cocoa powder that is used to make chocolate. So yes, while dark, mildly sweetened chocolate is an antioxidant rich food, raw cacao is far better for you to eat. Possibly one of the greatest gifts of nature is that chocolate is anti-aging. With one of the highest measured antioxidant (ORAC) capacities, cacao helps protect your cells from oxidation and aging. Improving vascular health, increasing HDL (the good) cholesterol and lowering blood pressure have all been studied as benefits of incorporating antioxidant-rich cacao into your diet. Cacao also contains other important minerals like iron, selenium, copper, zinc and manganese. As a valuable source of whole food magnesium, cacao helps to maintain a healthy brain, thyroid, and anti...

Get an Antioxidant Boost with Cacao Powder

September 26, 2017

Cacao is a superfood often confused with cocoa. They are quite different foods. To an untrained ear and an untrained eye they may seem similar. You’ll learn that cocoa isn’t a super food, while cacao is. Let’s take a moment to demystify cocoa or chocolate as a healthy delight. Cocoa butter isn’t the only brilliant product yielded by the cacao pod. Other cocoa solids (such as cocoa powder) are also extracted from the cocoa bean and contain slightly different compounds which in turn provide different skincare benefits. Cocoa powder contains lots of minerals including calcium, potassium and zinc. Most importantly though, cocoa solids contain high levels of caffeine and theobromine which are only present in trace amounts in cocoa butter. Caffeine and theobromine have similar properties and are brilliant in skincare. These compounds are able to break down fats and can have draining properties on fatty cells which allows them to be used for skin firming. Caffeine and theobromine are often ...

Real Estate Video Services in Los Angeles

September 22, 2017

The Best Organic Cacao Powder

September 21, 2017

The use of cacao for health dates back at least 3,000 years. Based on extensive research, the main health benefits of cacao stem from epicatechin, a flavanol found in cacao. The process of manufacturing dark chocolate retains epicatechin, whereas milk chocolate does not contain significant amounts of epicatechin. Both epidemiological and clinical studies suggest a beneficial effect of dark chocolate on blood pressure, lipids and inflammation. Proposed mechanisms underlying these benefits include enhanced nitric oxide bioavailability and improved mitochondrial structure and function. To get these benefits, the cacao needs to be pure. Cacao Vida states that cacao is one of the purest forms is in the beans themselves because they have the least processing, and includes cacao nibs. Cacao nibs are cacao beans that have been roasted, separated from their husks and broken into smaller pieces. Cacao beans are seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree, a small evergreen tree grown in Mexico and Sou...