Is Cacao toxic?
I have read many articles and posts on the web that Cacao is actually toxic and that the energy you feel from it is your body trying to rid itself of the toxin. http://www.living-foods.com/articles/toxiccacao.html Looking at the length of time and effort it takes to make the powder may lead some to think that it either shouldn't been eaten or should be used more as a spice than a main ingredient. Any thoughts or more information on this?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by onelove.amyruth on
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personally i was juicing mostly at one point then had cacao and boy did my stomach scream at me!. before that i was lovin it. eventually our body only wants the simplist forms of things...i think. well, just an opinion. i always listen to my body tho...itll always know whats best and it always "tells" me without fail...i just have to make sure im listening :)
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Permalink Reply by Raw by Default on -
Well, I know it's toxic to dogs. It could be toxic to humans as well (especially in the quantities that a lot of raw foodists are eating).
When I first went raw, I ate lots of raw cacao in the form of nibs and pudding. I can't do that anymore. I get an almost instant reaction. So it's probably toxic to some people, just like anything else.
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Permalink Reply by Jenny on -
i've heard this too. . .but then there are all the magical properties and the euphoric high. . . i guess i'd agree with the common sense sort of thought- moderation. . .and personal experimentation (noting the individual symptoms and experiences. . .)
x
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Permalink Reply by Alexandra on -
Im not a fan of sweet anything....so happy with greens and non sweet fruit
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on -
I have been raw for almost three yrs now and at the beginning i was ok with raw cacoa..
now it just doesnt agree with me...it triggers migraines....if i do a couple tblsps per day in a shake by the 3rd day I'm feeling not too hot..
so i've decided I'm better off without it
I have read as well that the energy you feel from it has something to do with your adrenal glands trying to compensate or somthing...sorry cant remember exactly but if your interested i still have that article saved on my computer
another thing I have heard several times from numerous sources, most recently from the choc guy at rawvolution in venice, Cali..is that raw choc is almost always fermented which isnt good.....David wolfes' is supposed to be the safest and a very smalll percentage is actually fermented....so if you feel ok when you eat it go for it but i would prob just eat maybe a tblsp a day..just enough so you can get the nutrition but not enough to get that choc high, since it may actually be your body's responding to the stress its puting on it
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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This is the article I was talking about......it was actually posted on here, welikeitraw a couple yrs ago by Dhrumil...hope this helps
Stephanie
Cacao Powder's dirty little secret
RawcacaopowderI love cacao powder, but through my first hand experience, I've learned to use it only sparingly and in small quantities.
A few months ago I made a killer "Hot Chocolate" drink using raw cacao powder, raw coconut butter, raw agave, raw cashew butter, organic vanilla beans, and warm water - all blended together. The drink was soooooooo good. One of the problems though, was that it was too good. I ended up drinking 5 cups of this hot chocolate in a very short amount of time.
After about 30 minutes, I started to notice my body getting significantly warmer, and after about 1 hour, my heart was beating extremely fast.
At first I was slightly worried and thought to myself, "WTF is going on?" After about 10 minutes of my heart beating at lightning speed, I started to cool down and then went online looking for some more information on cacao. I stumbled upon this article about cacao by Frederic Patenaude:
The fact is that what people actually confuse with "alertness" is actually an adrenal response to the stress that the body has to deal with when eliminating the toxins found in cacao beans. What you get is NOT energy. What you experience as energy is actually your body working hard to establish balance (homeostasis) again! It's like whipping a horse. Eventually, it will fall down.
I don't feel exactly the way Frederic says he does in the article, (not because I'm smarter), but I do notice that eating large amounts of cacao has a very "coffee" like effect on my body....as described above.
There is idea in the world of raw food that just because something is marketed & labeled as "raw", that one can eat it in any quantity that they desire. Not true. And because raw cacao powder is so convenient and great tasting, it is easy to overload on.
I enjoy the product, and will continue to use it, but you won't see me downing large amounts of my "hot chocolate" any time soon.
Posted by Dhrumil on March 01, 2006
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Permalink Reply by Lauren on -
I wish I read this post before last night!!! My husband and I had raw cacao truffles and cacao macaroons!! We were up all night! Our hearts were pounding, now I know why!! I will never make that mistake again! We thought we just overate.. geez.. MODERATION is right!
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Permalink Reply by Malene Trut on -
Me too, I ate tons of raw cacao powder on my blueberries today, and I feel totally stressed out!
Kinda like coffee yeah....
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Permalink Reply by RawTruth on -
"eat maybe a tblsp a day.." --
The issue of cacao's toxicity aside, it's probably best not to each the same anything every day. Variety is what our bodies thrive on. We humans originally feasted on a huge variety of plants and fruits. What we eat now is so much more limited. Then, when we have the same thing every single day, our bodies can become intolerant.
As for cacao, its supposed nutritional value is definitely questionable. If one were to use it medicinally, which is what I've come to believe it's only good for, that's one thing, but many people I know who've become addicted (yep, that's what I meant) formerly used coffee or other substances addictively, too, and I think this is a holdover.
It's kinda interesting to go without for a week and see how you feel ... what your body says. That's the true test.
In fact, it might be fun to have that as a challenge. Anyone up for it?
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Permalink Reply by bueller on -
That all sounds about right to what I'm feeling. Maybe a sprinkle here or there but not too much.
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