Did you know that Cacao contains more antioxidants than any other food, blowing blueberries, green tea and red wine out of the water?! And it might just be the most delicious food on the planet. Next to cheese. Or ahead of cheese. I can’t decide.
Chocolate contains a whopping dose of magnesium which is often lacking in the typical Canadian diet. Even a subclinical magnesium deficiency seems to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. It’s hard to test for this as a serum magnesium levels are highly variable and do not reflect tissue stores, and the more costly red blood cell magnesium is of questionable utility. Increasing your intake of magnesium rich foods to obtain 360mg/day for women and 420mg/day for men is a good idea.
If you love chocolate bars and want to enjoy the health benefits of Cacao, these are my two favourite whole food ingredients to keep on hand for chocolate cravings. They are healthy enough to be enjoyed every single day!
Cacao powder (on the left in photo). This is not cocoa! Cocoa is a more processed chocolate powder that is also delicious but not quite as nutritious. Add to smoothies, coffee or make a hot cacao with milk or your non-dairy milk of choice, and a little sweetener if needed. A pinch of sea salt takes it to the next level.
Cacao nibs (on the right in photo). These are fragments of the chocolate bean. They are lovely sprinkled on top of smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, or added to trail mix. If you like dark chocolate you’ll appreciate their flavour. If you’re used to sweet milk chocolate you may want to balance them with something sweet, like dates, maple syrup or honey.
Often chocolate bars contains very little cacao. If the main ingredients are sugar and milk, you’re probably not going to enjoy the health benefits of chocolate. Although it is perfectly fine to enjoy sweets like candy bars on occasion as part of a balanced diet and active lifestyle, choose chocolate that contains at least 75% cacao if you are looking for a healthier option that you can enjoy every day.
Cacao can aggravate heartburn. I hope it does not do this for you.
Aranka Jones 
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