"Enjoy Wild Balinese Cacao Beans, and learn the true magic of real chocolate!"
I found this text (source Nutrition Food), and after reading it I wasn't sure if it was correct, so I was thinking why dont I open a blogpage about it.
The Importance of Wild Cacao
Cacao is a native of the tropics, and has spread from its ancestral home of Central and South America to almost every rainforest ecosystem on the planet. Deep within the Indonesian jungle, a variety of cacao emerged from the rich volcanic soil in complete isolation, known only to natives of a few sparsely inhabited islands until now. This type of cacao has had thousands of years to develop an exotic, truly unique, wild flavor. A distant relative of Trinitario cacao, the genetic heritage of these Wild Balinese Cacao Beans has remained untouched for thousands of years. The flavor of these cacao beans is on par with the best cacao in the world, thanks to pure water, continuous sunlight, and mineral-rich soil that holds some of the freshest life energy on the planet. The benefits of raw cacao and the mellow flavor of traditional chocolate are present in these Wild Balinese Cacao Beans side by side. We have allowed these beans to ferment under controlled conditions until they have reached a 75% fermentation level. Allowing raw cacao beans to ferment to this extent while keeping them free of microbes represents an incredible amount of time and labor... but the results are well worth it! The taste of 75% fermented Balinese Cacao is at once familiar and totally unexpected.
All chocolate is made from Cacao Beans (also known as Cocoa Beans), but youve never had chocolate like this! Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao has incredibly high antioxidant values, abundant levels of minerals, and it has the potential to rejuvenate the brains neurotransmitters. All of the health-giving qualities of chocolate are found in Wild Balinese Cacao Beans, with a taste that is out of this world! No sugar, no dairy, no chemicals. Just one ingredient: Cacao!
Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans are one of nature's most fantastic superfoods due to their high mineral content and a wealth of antioxidants. Since many of the special properties of cacao are destroyed or lost by cooking, refining, and processing, planet Earths favorite food is still unknown to most of us. Now we get to reconnect with the power of real, raw, wild chocolate! Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans offer fantastic hope for chocoholics everywhere. You can turn cravings for cooked, processed, chocolate into the super-nutrition of the highest order.
Cacao is the Best Natural Food Source of the Following Nutrients:
Magnesium: Cacao appears to be the #1 source of magnesium of any food. Magnesium is one of the great alkaline minerals. It works to support the heart, boost our mental focus, and relieve constipation. Magnesium, along with other components of cacao, has been linked with a lessening of PMS symptoms. This is likely the primary reason women crave chocolate during their monthly cycle. Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and has been tied to increased happiness and improved mood.
Magnesium is the most deficient major mineral on the Standard American Diet (SAD); over 80% of Americans are chronically deficient in Magnesium! Raw, wild, cacao beans have enough magnesium to help reverse deficiencies of this mineral.
Antioxidants: Cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world. This point is so astounding that it bears repeating: No food exhibits greater antioxidant capacity than cacao! These antioxidants include polyphenols, catechins, and epicatechins. By weight, Cacao has more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates, and goji berries COMBINED.
Iron: Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans contain approximately 314% of the U.S. RDA of iron per 1 ounce (28 gram) serving. Iron plays an essential role in the body, working to carry oxygen from the lungs to every part of the body. Consuming whole food sources of Iron such as Wild Balinese Cacao is one of the best ways to keep our blood healthy.
Like Magnesium, nearly 80% of Americans are deficient in the trace mineral Chromium. This often overlooked mineral helps us burn fat, build muscle and metabolize calories from all the foods in our diet. Chromium is an important trace mineral that is most well known for helping to balance our blood sugar. Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans have enough chromium to help restore our levels of this vital trace mineral.
Anandamide: The human body naturally produces endorphins after exercise, neurotransmitters which flood our brains with positive feelings. One of these neurotransmitters is Anandamide, also known as The Bliss Chemical. While humans have to work hard to produce enough Anandamide to reach higher levels of ecstasty, only one plant produces this chemical as part of its normal metabolism Cacao! Not only does Cacao contain Anandamide in high concentrations, it also contains enzyme inhibitors that decrease our bodies' ability to breakdown The Bliss Chemical. When we eat raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Ceans, the Anandamide produced by our brains along with the Anadamide found in cacao may continue to circulate in the body for extended periods of time, helping us feel great all day long.
Theobromine: Wild cacao beans contain about 1% theobromine. Most commonly found in cacao, this chemical element is an effective anti-bacterial substance which works to kill Streptococci mutans (the primary organism responsible for cavities). Theobromine is a chemical relative of caffeine but it does not act as a nervous system stimulant. Theobromine dilates the cardiovascular system making the hearts job easier. The combination of Theobromine and Magnesium make Wild Balinese Cacao Beans an important part of a heart-healthy diet.
Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans Contain the Following Important Nutrients:
Zinc: Many of the enzymes in the human body would not exist without the presence of zinc. This mineral is a vital component in over 200 enzymes throughout the body, and it is a cofactor of hundreds more. Wild Balinese Cacao contains zinc, which plays a critical role in the health of the immune system, liver, pancreas, and skin. Additionally, zinc is essential for sexual development, fertility, and cell growth.
Manganese: This mineral plays a crucial role in the formation of bone, cartilage, and connective tissue. Manganese helps assist iron in the oxygenation of the blood and formation of hemoglobin, and helps to promote healthy joints.
Vitamin C: Cacao must be raw to contain vitamin C. All cooked and processed chocolate has had its vitamin C degraded beyond the point where it may benefit the human body. A one ounce (28 gram) serving of raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans contains approximately 21% of the U.S. RDA of Vitamin C.
Copper: Traditionally known as a powerful antimicrobial, copper also works to cleanse the lymphatic system and stimulate peristalsis. Copper is found naturally in plants with Vitamin C, so it is hardly a surprise that raw, wild cacao beans contain a good amount of copper. In the human body, copper helps to build healthy blood, making it a natural partner to iron and manganese.
Phenethylamine (PEA): Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans contain high levels of Phenylethylamine (PEA). Often known as The Love Chemical, PEA is the chemical produced in our bodies when we fall in love. This is likely one of the main reasons why love and chocolate have such a deep connection. PEA also plays a role in increasing focus and alertness.
Tryptophan: An essential amino acid which is transformed into important stress-protective neurotransmitters including serotonin and melatonin. Tryptophan is heat sensitive and therefore it is cooked out in many high protein foods and in conventional processed chocolate products.
Serotonin: The primary neurotransmitter in the human body, Serotonin is similar in its chemistry to tryptophan and melatonin. Serotonin helps us build up our stress defense shield which supports our immune system in times of high demand.
Omega 6 Fatty Acids: Raw, wild cacao contains essential omega 6 fatty acids, which form an integral part of our cell walls and allow for more efficient communication between cells.
Does Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Contain Caffeine?
Contrary to popular opinion, cacao is a poor source of caffeine. A typical sample of raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans will yield from zero caffeine to 1,000 parts per million of caffeine (less than 1/20th of the caffeine present in coffee).
Does Raw Cacao spike blood sugar levels?
In clinical tests carried out in February 2008, Dr. Gabriel Cousens discovered that Cacao does not elevate blood sugar in the same way as a caffeine containing food or beverage. In fact, Dr. Cousens found that cacao has less of an effect on blood sugar than nearly any other food.
Cacao beans contain no sugar and between 12% and 50% fat depending on variety and growth conditions. Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans are around 40% fat content (low compared to other nuts). There is no evidence to implicate consumption of Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans with obesity. Indeed, raw cacao can actually help promote weight loss because it contains minerals and molecules that reduce the appetite.
Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans have an extremely low microbe count. This is an extraordinary feat considering that cacao beans come from a moist and juicy fruit grown in the hot jungle. No other cacao bean sources can claim our level of safety.
Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans are free of heavy metals, including lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Strict oversight at every stage of production ensures that Wild Balinese Cacao Beans start pure and stay pure.
The unique process used to dry the Wild Balinese Cacao Beans retains the purity, fine aroma, fairly uniform large size, and the nutritional impact that nature intended.
High Flavor, No Roasting: Wild Balinese Cacao Beans allowed to reach a fermentation level of 75% retain the characteristic flavor of raw cacao with the full-bodied qualities of more traditional chocolate preparations.
The quality of Wild Balinese Cacao Beans combine with a low level of processing, meaning you get to enjoy a rich, raw chocolate flavor and aroma without roasting.
Allergies to Chocolate?
A recent study showed that only one out of 500 people who thought they were allergic to chocolate actually tested positive. Allergies to chocolate are quite rare. It is typically the case that the person is in fact allergic to milk and dairy products. Some people can be allergic to cooked and processed chocolate but are not allergic to Cacao.
http://www.sunfood.com/food/sunfood-brand/cacao-balinese-16oz-whole-peeled-75-fermentation-raw-certified-organic.html
for you Mark
Hi Mark,
Thank for this wonderfull reaction, this is why I started this blog for. You may have not seeing but at the start of the blog I was mention a link where I founded this information. I'm a chocolatier who like to know more on this subject and like to know if this is false or true, you have beeing helping a lot, thanks,
Geert
Hi Vercruysse,
I would be very careful of the various nutrient/medical claims you are stating for cacao. If you have sources to be able to back these up, that would be good. From my extensive research and study over the last 6 years, and speaking with knowledgeable medical scientists, I've a few corrections:
There are many spices and several foods that contain more phenolic compounds then cocoa/chocolate/so called "raw" cacao. Cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, acai berries (contrary to your statement, acai really does contain more antioxidants), and sumac to name a few.
The following biochemicals: Phenylethylamine (PEA), Serotonin, Tryptophan, Dopamine are all metabolized by the liver. This means that most of these are metabolized out and never reach the brain. With the exception of PEA, but even then only small amounts pass into the bloodstream to have a biochemical mood enhancing effect. Yes, it is true that consuming chocolate (or cacao beans) induces the brain to produce some of these compounds - serotonin and endorphins particularly.
As to your claim that the "raw" cacao beans containing low microbe count, unless you are constantly scientifically testing each and every batch at all stages, and even in storage conditions, it would be very hard to claim complete safety, especially considering the costs of doing this. Most of the small growers/producers would never claim this, and a lot of them are now refusing to sell unroasted cacao beans due to the possible negative health effects.
Your paragraph stating the clinical study of Dr. Cousnes is poorly written, it is not clear what the connections are - caffeine? What does caffeine have to do with blood sugar? What exactly was the study performed upon? Cacao beans? Chocolate?
I would really like to see the sources of the studies for your claims. I've never seen any study or biochemical assay that states thatcacao contains "high" concentrations of anandamide.
As to the theobromine content of cacao, that would change from year to year and harvest to harvest, along with the minerals.
Please cite your claims.
Thank you,
-Mark
This is correct Brian, I follow you path all the way Its good to know people are reading blogs sometimes and to Sirius Chocolate David W is involved, yes.
Geert is my first name Brian,
Thanks
hi vercruysse, my comments would be that its impossible for the balinese cacao to have been in isolation in bali for thousands of years, there is no possible transmission vector for cacao to have left central and south america before the 1400's more or less and i don't think the dutch had access to it anywhere near that point.
also i would say that bragging about 75% fermentation is a joke, that would be considered totally inadequate fermentation by any fine cacao standards.
brian
BTW, anything in Bali cannot be wild as it was introduced from South America and deliberately planted. It might be "feral" as opposed to "cultivated" but it can't truly be called wild.
Thanks to Clay,
Geert Chocolatier (not cacaofarmer).
http://www.sunfood.com/food/sunfood-brand/cacao-balinese-16oz-whole-peeled-75-fermentation-raw-certified-organic.html
This is the link to the story about the Bali Beans etc...
David Wolfe is no longer in any way a part of Sunfood.
David recently posted this to his facebook page.
Greetings Geert
Where did you get the second half of the blog, from "Enjoy Wild Balinese Cacao Beans, and learn the true magic of real chocolate!" down? It sounds to me like a sales piece written by David Wolfe to market Big Tree Farms. What is your opinion on Bali Cacao?