The Benefits of Cacao
Celebrating Chocolate Day - Yes, you heard us right. Chocolate is often avoided in diets due to it's high sugar content but not all chocolate is bad for you. When you breakdown the components of chocolate, there is a key ingredient - cacao.
You may have heard that dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate. This is because dark chocolate has less sugar, and a greater concentration of cacao.
Top Three Benefits of Cacao
Our Cacao-Coconut Flavour Boost is made up of raw, high quality cacao powder. This not only produces a rich, chocolatey personalised BodyFuel, it comes packed with it's own health benefits.
Discover the benefits, and try out our very own personalised, chocolate smoothie bowl recipe.
Rich in Polyphenols
Cacao is one of the richest sources of polyphenols. It is especially abundant in flavanols, which have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Cacao has been linked to reducing inflammation, aiding blood flow, lowering blood pressure, and improving cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Weight Control
Somewhat of a paradox, cacao intake, even in chocolate, may aid weight control. Research to date has shown promising results with the possible implication of cacao in the modulation of body weight through several mechanisms including decreasing the expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis, reducing the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and fats, and increasing satiety.
Improve Mood
Tryptophan is an amino acid and can be found in raw cacao. It assists our body in producing serotonin, the neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation.
A Chocolate Smoothie Bowl
With these benefits in mind, we have created a smoothie bowl that incorporates your personalised BodyFuel, and our raw Cacao-Coconut Flavour Boost.
Ingredients
- 3 Spoons of 0% Greek yoghurt (use Alpro coconut as a vegan alternative)
- 50ml Alpro coconut milk
- 1x35g Scoop personalised BodyFuel
- 2x5g Scoops Cacao-Coconut Flavour boost
- 1 Square of 85% dark chocolate, grated
- Pinch of dark chocolate drops
Simply place the yoghurt, milk, BodyFuel, and Cacao-Coco into a blender, and blend till smooth, then pour into your favourite bowl. Once this is done, add your toppings. Keep the cravings away and enjoy!
