11 Health and Nutrition Benefits of Cocoa Powder
It can be said that cocoa powder is one of the nutritious foods that are good for health, not only that but it is also one of the delicious drinks that fascinates many consumers. But besides cocoa powder, there are many other health benefits. Therefore, Trong Duc Cacao will today give you 11 health benefits that cocoa powder brings. [Nbsp]
1. Cocoa is rich in Polyphenols - natural antioxidants
Polyphenols are naturally occurring antioxidants found in foods like fruits, vegetables, tea, chocolates and wines. They offer a wide range of health benefits, including reducing inflammation, supporting blood circulation, lowering blood pressure and reducing cholesterol and blood sugar.
Cocoa is one of the richest sources of polyphenols, which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the process of processing and heating cocoa may cause it to lose these beneficial properties. Cocoa is also often treated with alkali to reduce bitterness, resulting in a 60% reduction in polyphenol content.
Therefore, although cocoa is an excellent source of polyphenols, not all products containing cocoa will provide the same health benefits.
2. Cocoa lowers high blood pressure by improving nitric oxide levels
Cocoa, both in powder form and in the form of dark chocolate, can help lower blood pressure. This finding was first recorded in cocoa islanders in Central America. Those who regularly drink cocoa have much lower blood pressure than those who do not drink. The flavanols in cocoa are thought to improve blood nitric oxide levels, enhance blood vessel function and lower blood pressure.
The effect of lowering blood pressure is more evident in people who have high blood pressure and older adults than those without the disease and younger. However, it is important to remember that processing significantly reduces flavanols, so the effect may not be noticeable from chocolate bars in general.
3. May reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke
In addition to lowering blood pressure, cacao has other properties that can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Cocoa is rich in Flavanols, which can improve the level of nitric oxide in the blood, relaxes and dilates arteries and blood vessels and improves blood flow.
Furthermore, cacao helps reduce the amount of bad LDL cholesterol, dilutes blood like aspirin, improves blood sugar and reduces inflammation. This reduces the risk of heart attack, heart failure and stroke
Two studies in Sweden showed that if you eat 19-30 grams of chocolate per day, the rate of heart failure will be lower. However, if you eat more than the recommended amount above, it does not give better effect. This proves that regular consumption of a small piece of chocolate rich in cocoa can help protect your heart.
4.Polyphenol cải thiện lưu lượng máu đến não và chức năng não
Một số nghiên cứu đã chứng minh rằng, thực phẩm có hàm lượng polyphenol cao như cacao có thể làm giảm nguy cơ mắc các bệnh thoái hóa thần kinh bằng việc cải thiện chức năng não và lưu lượng máu.
Ngoài ra, flavanol ảnh hưởng đến việc sản xuất oxit nitric, giúp thư giãn các cơ mạch máu, cải thiện lưu lượng máu và cung cấp máu cho não của bạn.
Một nghiên cứu kéo dài hai tuần ở 34 người lớn tuổi, khi được bổ sung cacao flavanol cho thấy lưu lượng máu đến não tăng 8% sau một tuần và 10% sau hai tuần. Các nghiên cứu sâu hơn cho thấy rằng việc sử dụng flavanol cacao hàng ngày có thể cải thiện hiệu suất tinh thần ở cả người bị và không bị suy yếu về tinh thần.
Những nghiên cứu này cho thấy vai trò tích cực của cacao đối với sức khỏe não bộ và những tác động tích cực trong các bệnh thoái hóa thần kinh như Alzheimer và Parkinson.
5. Can improve mood and symptoms of depression with many different effects
In addition to the positive effects of cocoa on age-related mental degeneration, its effects on the brain can also improve mood and depressive symptoms.
The positive effects on mood may be due to the flavanols in cocoa that convert tryptophan into serotonin that stabilizes the natural mood due to its caffeine content or simply when eating chocolate people often feel happy.
A study of chocolate consumption and stress levels in pregnant women found that eating chocolate regularly helped reduce stress and improve mood in the newborn after birth.
Moreover, another study found that drinking polyphenol cocoa helps improve calmness and increase feelings of satisfaction. In addition, a study in older men found that eating dark chocolate helped improve overall health and boost mental health.
6. Flavanols may improve symptoms of type 2 diabetes
Many people believe that eating a lot of chocolate is definitely not good for controlling blood sugar, but cocoa, in turn, has some anti-diabetic effects.
In vitro studies have shown that the flavanols in cocoa can slow down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates in the intestines, improve insulin secretion, reduce inflammation and stimulate the absorption of sugar from the bloodstream into muscles.
Adding a high amount of flavanols to foods like cacao reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes . A human study found that eating dark chocolate or flavanols rich in cocoa can reduce insulin sensitivity, improve blood sugar control and reduce inflammation in people with diabetes and non-diabetes.
7. Can control your weight surprisingly
It is quite surprising that cocoa supplements, even in chocolate form, can help you manage your weight. Cocoa helps regulate energy use, reduce appetite, reduce inflammation and increase fat oxidation and increase satiety.
A large-scale study found that people who consumed chocolate more often had a lower BMI than those who ate less, although this group had previously eaten a lot of calories and fat.
In addition, a study on weight loss on a low carbohydrate diet showed that a group of subjects supplemented with 42 grams of dark chocolate with 81% cocoa content per day, helping to lose weight faster than the only applied group. ] diet normally.
8. Cocoa helps fight cancer
Flavanols in fruits, vegetables and foods have attracted a lot of attention from scientists due to their anti-cancer properties, low toxicity and few adverse side effects.
Cocoa has the highest flavanol concentration of all the above foods. In vitro studies have shown that cocoa has anti-inflammatory effects, inhibits the growth of cancer cells and helps prevent the spread of cancer cells.
Animal studies using a cocoa-rich diet have shown positive results in reducing breast, pancreatic, prostate, liver and colon cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer.
Human studies have shown that high flavanol-rich diets reduce cancer risk. However, the evidence on the effects of cocoa in reducing cancer is conflicting because some studies do not see the expected results and even increase the risk of cancer.
9. Theobromine and Theophylline may be good for people with asthma
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition that causes blockage, inflammation of the airways and can be life threatening. Cocoa may be beneficial for people with asthma, as it contains anti-asthma compounds, such as theobromine and theophylline.
Theobromine can help treat persistent coughs. 100 grams of cacao can provide 1.9 grams of theobromine. Theophylline helps your lungs relax, the airways relax, and reduces inflammation.
Animal studies have shown that cocoa extract can reduce both airway spasm and tissue thickness. However, these findings have not been clinically tested in humans and it is unclear whether cocoa is safe to use with other anti-asthma drugs.
10. Antibacterial and immune stimulating properties may benefit teeth and skin
Cocoa contains many compounds with antibacterial, anti-enzyme and immune stimulating properties, good for oral health. However, most cocoa products on the market contain sugar. Therefore, new products should be developed to promote the health benefits of cocoa.
Cocoa polyphenols have shown significant benefits to the skin. Drinking cocoa for a long time has been shown to help sunscreen, increase blood circulation in the skin and improve surface texture and increase hydration for the skin.
11. Easy to put on diet
The European Food Safety Authority recommends adding 2.5 grams of flavanols or 10 grams of dark chocolate containing at least 200 mg of flavanols to your diet each day to gain cardiovascular health benefits.
However, this figure has been considered by some other researchers to be too low for cocoa to promote cardiovascular benefits. In general, it is important to choose sources of cocoa with a high flavanols content - the less treatment, the better.
Some ways to add cocoa to your diet include:
Eat dark chocolate that contains at least 70% cacao
Drink hot / cold cacao: Mix cacao with milk to have 1 glass of chocolate milk
Smoothie: Cocoa can be added to smoothies to give a richer chocolate flavor.
Pudding: You can add raw cocoa powder to the pudding to make your own breakfast pudding or rice pudding
Sprinkle on fruits: Cocoa is especially beautiful when sprinkled on bananas or strawberries
If you are in need of pure cocoa powder, please come to Trong Duc Cocoa immediately. Because we specialize in providing all cacao chat bot products of high quality, reasonable price, certified food safety, you can rest assured to buy our cocoa powder.