The Science behind Cacao.
And why it is still magical
This is a longer one than usual and I hope you thoroughly enjoy my compilation of nutrients, psychoactive compounds and the plenty benefits of ceremonial grade cacao.
I address:
I want to start this essay with the words of Marcos Patchett, to be found in his 2020 published book The Secret Life of Chocolate, Chapter 4 Pharmaceutical chocolate, p.105 onwards. I consider this book the bible of cacao and am so utterly grateful and amazed by Marcos’ in-depth decade of research and dedication. If you ever want to really get into the science behind cacao it is the most comprehensive and unbeaten work for that.
Cacao contains an array of pharmacologically active chemicals. In the natural pharmacopoeia there is no sharp division between foods and drugs/medicine - and Cacao is no exception in being used and useful as nutritious food AND valuable medicine for several ailments. We as humans are plant-interdependent organisms and not only a single ingredient, a certain plant or even a combination of substances can be a dogmatic use for every human being - we add our own chemistry into the mix, our digestive system and metabolism play a huge role as well as our lifestyle and overall diet will influence the effects that Cacao (and other foods, drugs, chemical or plant medicines) have on us!
"The food industry has spent tens, probably hundreds of millions of dollars in search of a chemical that would reverse … [or ward off vascular diseases]. And God gave us flavanol-rich cocoa which does that" - Norman Hollenberg, quoted in Paoletti et al., Chocolate and Health, 2012
Most research on medicinal plants and foods are limited to one condition or focused on one outcome which often leads to extraction or certain compounds and the invention of "effective" pills that are stripped of the "unnecessary" other compounds in plants to favour the one active ingredient that is wanted for a certain purpose. Yet we know that plants are complex entities (as are we humans) which produce complex effects. The chemicals in a substance such as Cacao can interact in the body in several ways. Some compounds of plant origin may not be found in the whole plant at all, but are created in the human body from the original plant chemicals; these original compounds may be utterly transformed by metabolic processes in the digestive system or liver or by some of the billions of microscopic organisms living in the gut for example. The different pharmacologically active compounds in a single medicinal plant can inhibit, enhance or do nothing at all to affect how they work together.
How, in what form and when Cacao is consumed will also influence matters, as - most importantly - will the state of the organism consuming it: for example whether they have a full or empty stomach, what else have recently been consumed, their mood, phase of life and intention.
Cacao contains a large number of biologically active and bioavailable compounds - bioavailability is a very important factor, as lots of plants contain amazing compounds yet are not absorbed by the human body.
Theobroma Cacao is a tree, with lots of big colourful fruit pods. The pods contain seeds which are covered by fruit pulp and are harvested, fermented, dried and roasted before ground into a paste - the so-called cacao liquor.
Ceremonial Cacao is minimally processed whereas the process of chocolate only begins when the processing of ceremonial Cacao ends. The Cacao beans are de-fatted and heated several times, tempered to make smooth or processed into „cocoa“ powder and mixed with sugar, fats and other additives.
Many of the nutrients in the cacao beans are lost as a result of this industrial processing. In addition, the cacao butter contained in the beans plays an important role in the absorption of the beneficial compounds in our body.
Disturbing fact: After de-fatting the Cacao beans and taking away the precious Cacao butter - to be sold mainly to the cosmetic industry - either other fats or cacao butter from different origins is added again to create smooth chocolate.
Pure Cacao however is one of the most nutrient dense superfood on our planet!
Especially minimally processed ceremonial grade cacao contains a composition of active ingredients, that helps our body to ground, our mind to focus and our heart to open.
Since ceremonial Cacao is not a protected term, anyone can use it for marketing purposes and for any products - which unfortunately often have little to do with honouring the culture, ceremonial work, energetic effect and ethical origin. You can read more about the differences in sourcing here.
Nutrients for Body, Mind and Soul
Cacao is considered a superfood as it provides maximum nutritional benefits for minimal calories. Cacao is packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Cacao contains more antioxidants than blueberries and is one of nature’s highest sources of magnesium. It also contains Iron, Zinc, Chromium and Manganese.
Especially during menstruation can the combination of magnesium and iron in Cacao bring wondrous relief during cramps and support female and male bodies during athletic endurance, mental focus and times of immune system distress.
Antioxidants protect the cells from damage caused by free radicals, repair the skin and are a powerful anti-inflammatory. While cacao does not cause blemishes, it can promote 'skin purging' where the antioxidants cause 'cell turnover' or skin renewal where the pore gets clogged as the cells renew themselves.
Flavanols aid to relax the blood vessels, improve blood flow and can lower blood pressure alongside potassium.
Potassium is the most abundant mineral in cacao. Polyphenols aid in blood sugar reduction, it stops the insulin levels from rising and therefor we don’t have sugar cravings!
Arginine is an amino acid that also regulates blood pressure, helps the body build protein and aids in muscle recovery. It can lower the body’s resistance to viral infections and worsen allergies and asthma.
Neurotransmitter and Chemical Compounds
Cacao is a psycho-active plant but not a psychedelic one. Psycho-active: slightly alters the brain function yet not our control other than psychedelic substances such as psilocybin which alter the body function. Cacao gently enhances our senses, we feel happy and sensual, come into trust.
Cacao is an entheogenic plant. Entheo: Full of god, inspiring, to gen: to come into being.
Cacao is an adaptogenic plant like Maca root or medicinal mushrooms (for example Reishi and Chaga). Adaptogenic means the plant meets you where you are without forcing you somewhere. Adaptogenics balance and harmonise your system.
Cacao contains:
Theobromine is a cardiovascular stimulant and increases the heart beat. It lifts mood and energy for an extended period of time and contributes to mental focus. In addition to its energising effects, Theobromine relaxes smooth muscle tissue, dilates blood vessels (it is a vasodilator) and is a mild diuretic. Unlike caffeine, which can make you jittery, theobromine provides a gentler, longer-lasting energy boost.
Caffein is a nervous system stimulant. The caffein/theobromine ratio varies from cacao to cacao and the amount of caffeine can be very high and too stimulating for some people and should be considered when pregnant. Keith’s Cacao was tested and contains: 46,8 mg/g Theobromine and 1,09 mg/g Caffein
Phenethylamine, the “love chemical”, is the chemical which our body produces naturally when we fall in love! PEA enhances out focus and elevates our mood! Further more it amplifies the production of dopamine which therefore helps with athletic performance, weight loss, depression and more. Kind of a “chocolate amphetamine”
Anandamide, the “bliss chemical”, is an endogenic cannabinoid which is a neurotransmitter that aims for the same brain structures as THC (the active ingredient in cannabis). Anandamide reduces pain, anxiety and fear, and aids in controlling milk production during breastfeeding (It is after all the hormone which our body produces when we are born and give birth). The state of bliss that it helps us to achieve can last for days after ceremony and if you would like to stay in this state, which is slowly being released by the body, you can start a regular practice with cacao by implementing cacao daily into your rituals or snack a bliss ball every now and then. Many of my students (and me included) need less cacao over time as the chemicals in the body are being balanced and this bliss state can be experienced even without cacao. Cacao literally trains our body to activate the "high on your own supply” method! Additionally cacao contains anandamide inhibitors, which slow down the metabolism of anandamide and lead to anandamide staying longer in our system. That is why its effect is long lasting.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors do the same what anandamide inhibitors do with anandamide but with monoamine oxidase. Monoamine oxidase is responsible for metabolising serotonin and dopamine in our brain. By blocking this metabolisation process those mood enhancing substances stay longer in our system! If you take MAOI based antidepressants cacao however can contraindicate with your medication.
Tyramine can also contraindicate with MAOI-based antidepressants. Tyramine is an amino acid that regulates blood pressure. MAOI's block MAO, which breaks down tyramine. Excessive tyramine in the body can cause a spike in blood pressure, headaches or migraines. The many other blood pressure reducing compounds in cacao balance this put perfectly.
Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin. As the precursor to melatonin, tryptophan helps regulate our circadian rhythms. Tryptophan also influences appetite regulation, another reason why consuming cacao stops cravings.
Essentially, Cacao appears to be a haemodynamic marvel, simultaneously reducing almost every risk factor for cardiovascular disease: it dilates narrowed blood vessels, lowers levels of blood lipids which can accumulate on damaged artery walls, stabilises damaged red blood cells, strengthens the heartbeat, reduces blood pressure, and increases the rate of blood vessel repair.
Another insight from Marcos Patchett
Its great for the skin, a natural antidepressant, supportive for people struggling with PTSD and so much more.
Can I loose weight by consuming cacao?
Besides the effect of Potassium, Phenethylamine and Tryptophan on our bodies which stop cravings, the high healthy fat content, the cacao butter, helps us to stay nourished and satiated over a long period, making us feel fulfilled and fuelled without reaching for snacks. Plus: Cacao contains flavonoids, which may help regulate blood sugar levels. A 2017 review points to the findings of several small studies, which suggest that cacao may help with insulin resistance and slow the progression of type 2 diabetes.
Should this be part of your interest in adding cacao to your regular diet I urge you to get used to the pure taste of it, simply combined with water. When you have a blender, the smoothness (and maybe a sprinkle of vanilla) will help your tastebuds to adjust to the earthy taste and soon you will be used to its rich flavour. It won’t take logn and you won’t even consider cacao bitter anymore, so much so that when someone passes you some dairy chocolate your tongue will be offended by the unnecessary sugary additives. At least this was the case for me. Despite having been a proper Kinder girl (I loved all of their chocolates!) I can’t even look at the brand anymore without thinking how distorted my taste buds were.
The beautiful thing about cacao as an adaptogenic plant is though that it not only helps us to loose weight and feel generally more healthy, fit, energised and happy - it also aids in gaining weight. Yes, you read that correctly. But not in the way we fear, in a very needed way when for example someone struggles with appetite, certain illnesses where they can’t seem to eat enough or store proper nutrients, it can even support people with eating disorder through the mood enhancing effects that contribute to accepting oneself and regaining self-trust. And self-worth if you combine it with inner work! Hence why I offer Cacao Dietas combined with Shadow Work or other self-reflective modalities..
Theobromine vs. Caffeine
Cacao was the first popular drink introduced to European courts (preceding both coffee and tea!) to the pleasure of consuming the group of stimulating alkaloids known as the xanthines: theobromine, theophilline and caffeine.
In contrast to caffeine, which stimulates the nervous system, theobromine stimulates the cardiovascular system and thus has an activating effect on the heart and increases mental concentration. Caffeine in small amounts stimulates our dopamine production but in higher amounts it can have aversive effects (we all know the crash after too much coffee). Theobromine on the other hand enhances focus and concentration, making it a wonderful subtle stimulant for flow states and alongside the high amounts of relaxing and brain health supporting magnesium: a great ally for meditation.
However, Cacao contains varying amounts of caffeine and the reason I choose to mainly work with Keith’s Cacao is because it is tested for its caffeine content and consistently low compared to its high theobromine content. Should you have cacao from Ecuador for example you would find it more suitable for ecstatic dances as the caffeine ratio often is much higher.
Caffeine is not all bad whatsoever, but we live in an already overstimulated society and in an age of anxiety, burnout and stress it is important to regulate our nervous system instead of constantly pushing it. More so for women as caffeine has a big impact in our hormonal health.
Most of us are over stimulated and think we are not able to function if we take away substances like coffee, tea, sugar. When we try to stop the habit we get tired, exhausted, frustrated - or worse in case of caffeine or sugar: withdrawal symptoms such as headaches. Yet this doesn’t happen because we can’t function without these stimulants, it happens because these stimulants covered something up for a long time: our dysregulated nervous system, adrenal fatigue or suppressed emotional baggage.
In order for us to regulate, we might have to face a phase of tiredness to allow our body to rest more than we would like and accept if we are not capable to live up to the ever increasing demands and expectations like all the tasks on our to-do list. This is very hard to do in an environment where doing is more valued than being and standards tell us that busyness and stress are a normal part of everyday life.
Now comes the conditioned part: We often don’t even consider ourselves “sensitive” to substances, because we are used to drink heaps amount of coffee without having problems to sleep or take pride in being able to drink a bottle of wine without wavering.
But the default human system is sensitive. It has to be, for survival purposes. We have to be tuned into our environment, our community, our children, our bodies. However in the Western society we have grown up with an inherent disconnect from our human nature, resulting in disassociation and numbing pain, loneliness (from disconnect) and anxiety.
Now comes the good news: The effect of caffeine in coffee is very different to the effect in caffeine in cacao.
Why? Because we can’t only look at one single compound without its context within other compounds. Coffee is an extraction, tea an infusion and cacao is consumed completely with its natural fats, fibre, protein and carbohydrates. PLEASE DON’T CONFUSE THIS WITH CACAO POWDER! I am talking specifically ceremonial grade cacao paste. More about the difference here. Should you use powder you are back at square one and have more caffeine related issues. Same goes for plantation grown cacao from non-native lands such as Africa - 80% of the supermarket chocolate and cacao comes from there so you can be pretty sure you are not getting the best quality even if you buy it from health food stores!
Heavy Metal Concerns
Cadmium a new regulation in the EU requires that cadmium intake must be less than 0.80ppm. Keith's Cacao is significantly below the EU regulation at 0.12ppm.
Why I choose to mainly work with Keith’s Cacao
Keith Wilson coined the term ceremonial grade cacao and brought this sacred plant into the awareness of our western world. Up to his death in January 2024 he resided in San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala, where he heard the Call of the Cacao Spirit in the early 2000s and followed their teachings.
Although Cacao has been used in rituals for thousands of years, there is no known tradition of a cacao ceremony and even the modern Mayans confirm that they don’t have a tradition of said ceremony, in which cacao is the main focus. Until Keith started to connect cacao with energy and inner child work and shared it as a „Cacao Ceremony“ this term did not exist and therefore there is not one specific way to work with cacao. However there is an integral and authentic way to hold space and create rituals that are either passed down to you by elders or learned through your own heritage. Most importantly though is the selection of Cacao itself.
With Cacao’s rising popularity and reputation as healthy superfood, many big and small companies started selling pure or „raw“ Cacao and rest assured; the cheaper it is the more unaligned your Cacao will be with the valuable plant medicine that Cacao can be when grown, harvested and processed properly.
It is easy to find a Cacao farm that sells pure Cacao but it is hard to find indigenous people that still uphold the traditional way of farming and respecting the sacred plant.
And if they do it involves a lot of manual labour, fermentation and roasting protocols and reference to the Plant Spirit that won’t be easily found on big plantations that (even worse) use western monoculture and therefore destroy a lot of the plant’s properties and connection to its native surrounding, the energetics and communication between other plants and mycelium networks. Which those truthful to the traditions of South and Central America and the Caribbeans, and the message of Spirit and Nature would not dare to interrupt.
The Cacao plants were transferred to non-native countries and are still grown there in ways that value profit, quantity and gains over nutrition, quality, ethics and nature connection. Also - thanks to European colonialism - Cacao started to be grown unethically and up to this day can involve child labour, exploitation (of land and people) and pesticides. Cacao found its way to Africa through the colonisers who brought slaves and plants over to grow the plant due to the quickly rising popularity of chocolate in Europe.
Guatemala, where Keith’s Cacao is processed is one of the few countries, in which Theobroma Cacao is native. Also the connection to other nature beings is not to be underestimated: Cacao is said to grow specifically well (especially the most precious Criollo Cacao variety) where there are deposits of Jade, the gemstone, which Guatemala is one of the few regions that has an abundance of jade in the earth. It is said that jade gives its power to Cacao and through this energy exchange makes it the magical spiritual plant ally that it is!
If you would like to try Keith’s Cacao, you can use my discount code KAKAOZAUBER19DE21 on www.keithscacao.com (They have a UK warehouse for speedy 2 day delivery without additional taxes within the UK and an American, European and Australian warehouse for other regions in the world!). The code is valid for repeated use and gives you 5% off 1-4 blocks and 15% off for 5 or more blocks.
Would you like to train with me?
I have an comprehensive study and in-depth training for space holders to work professionally with ceremonial grade cacao and develop their unique and authentic way of sharing this magical plant medicine.
My training is accredited by Keith’s Cacao, so should you wish to receive the original ceremonial grade cacao for wholesale pricing you can become an official KC practitioner upon completion of my course THE MAGIC OF CACAO.
In order to dip your toes further into my work consider becoming a Magic Member, which gives you access to my live guided two-week Cacao Dieta which also count as instalment payments for the facilitator training.
Thank you, Laura, for this wonderful resource. My curiosity about cacao continues to grow, and I'm grateful that you are here to guide me on that journey.
Amazing!!! Thank you 🙏🏻