Cocoa Dangerous? Mao inhibitor food interaction....
I have been dabbling with raw chocolate, nibs and powders for a while. Yesterday was the first time I had cocoa beans and this stuff deserves to be handled with respect for sure! I did not know this at the time though and drank a cocoa smoothie at a new living foods bar close to my apartment. It was so delicious and put me and my partner in fit of giggles so I decided to buy a bag of beans as well. I probably ate...oh around 10 beans total after my smoothie (who knows how many beans where in the smoothie...) and by the end of the evening I was feeling very spun out and absent minded. I realized that I hadn't eaten anything all day other than the smoothie (time flies when you eat cocoa) and I ran to the fridge and ate a handful of raw hazelnuts and flax crackers. This seemed to only make me feel worse and I had the worst panic attack of my life in public...which was soo embarrassing! lol I thought I was going to die. The only thing that made me feel better was drinking lots of lemonade and breathing.
SO....
I did a bit of research and learned that Cocao is a mao inhibitor and should not be combined with the following foods Tyramine is an amino acid. You can find the list of foods here.. http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Misc/maoi.foods.html
My panic attack had started after I ate the raw nuts...which may have even more Tyramine than cooked nuts.
I believe cocoa is a powerful tool to use medicinally but I don't consider anything a 'food' if you have to be careful of interactions. That sounds more like a drug to me! I didn't even eat that many nuts...for those of you who make nut butters and pates this might be something to think about.
SO....
I did a bit of research and learned that Cocao is a mao inhibitor and should not be combined with the following foods Tyramine is an amino acid. You can find the list of foods here.. http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Misc/maoi.foods.html
My panic attack had started after I ate the raw nuts...which may have even more Tyramine than cooked nuts.
I believe cocoa is a powerful tool to use medicinally but I don't consider anything a 'food' if you have to be careful of interactions. That sounds more like a drug to me! I didn't even eat that many nuts...for those of you who make nut butters and pates this might be something to think about.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by yogini on -
It is without a doubt more of a drug than a food. Sorry you had to find out in such a rough fashion!
It's fun for a little while- then crash and burn. I e .... it's a drug. Better by far than a snickers bar... but not really a food (or superfood for that matter). If someone is "transitioning" they might not notice these effects for a while. After your system gets even moderately clean- you can tell it's a drug pretty easily. So- small, small doses eaten respectfully are the way to do it (although I don't eat it - just my preference).
O and not to mention- it's addictive. Big time.
Glad you are felling better now.
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Permalink Reply by Zoe on -
Wow strong effect in your case!
I am also confused about cacao because I read this from www.detoxyourworld.com which is Shazzie;s website, she who pretty much invented raw cacao alongside David Wolfe:
"Contrary to popular opinion, cacao is a poor source of caffeine. A typical sample of cacao nibs or cacao beans will yield anywhere from zero caffeine to 1,000 parts per million of caffeine (less than 1/20th of the caffeine present in coffee). In February 2008, Dr Gabriel Cousens discovered in clinical tests on healthy people 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."
I always thought it was jam packed with caffeine, or does it have a different effect when it is "raw" - although the rawness of cacao is debatable in itself...
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Permalink Reply by Chicory on -
aww.. I can really relate! I've had some horrible panic attacks in the past from cacao, and caffeine. It would always happen like 4 to 6 hours later though.... so i'd forget why it was happening, then call my dad saying "i think i'm having a heart attack!" lol. thanks for the info!
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