Raw Cacao is Good For Us | Benefits Of This Super Dooper Food!

paleo chocolate1

Raw cacao powder is probably our all time favourite ingredient. How could anyone not like it? It’s good for you, it tastes like chocolate AND it makes us magical… true story.

Pronounced ca-kow if you’re wondering, not ca-kay-oh (we pronounced it this way for months) raw cacao powder is definitely a super duper food.

There’s heaps of information out there giving us mixed and confusing messages about chocolate. So firstly here is an explanation of the differences between chocolate, cacao and cocoa (it’s already confusing, right?). We found this on the Food Matters website...

  • cacao: refers to the plant, a small evergreen tree of the species Theobroma cacao, cultivated for its seeds, also known as raw cacao beans or raw cacao powder
  • cocoa: refers to the powder made from roasted, husked and ground cacao seeds, from which most of the fat has been removed
  • cocoa butter: the fat component of the cacao seed
  • chocolate: the solid food or candy made from a preparation of cacao seeds (roasted); if the cacao seeds are not roasted, then you have “raw chocolate,” which is also typically sweetened with sugar and chemicals.

So the chocolate we’re talking about is raw cacao… and this kind of chocolate? Well, you’ll be glad to know that this kind of chocolate, raw cacao is good for us (like really really good).  But what exactly are the benefits of raw cacao, besides being amazingly drool worthy delicious?

Raw cacao…

  • is super high in antioxidants (more than blueberries, goji berries and acai!)
  • is high in minerals like magnesium and iron
  • is an anti-inflammatory
  • reduces stress
  • helps liver function
  • lowers risk of Alzheimer’s
  • reduces blood pressure
  • minimises the risk of cardio vascular disease and stroke
  • elevates the mood

Share the benefits of raw cacao with this cute image we made!

raw cacao

See! Raw cacao is good for us!

We can 100% vouch for the last point. Raw cacao makes us super happy and energetic. So it’s a bit of a stimulant BUT there’s no anxiety or mood crash like we get from other stimulants (like coffee). We like to say it makes us magical… we just feel so darn good after we drink/eat it, like anything is possible (see, magical!).

You can find raw cacao powder at all good health food stores and if you need some recipes, well, just look under our sweet treat section. We can highly recommend giving our one minute paleo chocolate cake a whirl as well as our low sugar smoothie!

As with all things, raw cacao should be consumed in moderation (don’t be eating a bag a day!). We usually have it about once a day in our smoothie or for a little sweet treat. We couldn’t find any information saying what happens to the good stuff in raw cacao once it’s cooked… but we vote it’s still better than any regular sugar filled chocolate bar (yuck!).

Do you love raw cacao powder, does it make you magical too? We’d love to hear all about it! Just leave us a comment below.

Always merrymaking,

Emma + Carla

Scroll to Top