Cacao Nibs - Could this be the best food I eat?
raw cacao nibs
For the past year, I’ve been snacking on cacao nibs…I don’t remember where I read about them…but if you pressed me for an answer…I think it was my friend John Berardi out east.
I am always looking for natural ways to help my body deal with stress, recover from my crazy workouts and simply get more out of this awesome life. I read about cacao nibs and decided to try them. Since then, I’ve been hooked.
Dark chocolate is something I love for many reasons, including keeping depression out of my life.
Cacao (in its raw form) happens to be one of the best, most incredible superfoods you can find anywhere!
According to the research that I’ve done, raw cacao is the highest source of antioxidants of any food. It also provides a huge amount of magnesium, which happens to be the most deficient mineral for us North Americans.
It will come as no surprise to the yummy snack cognoscenti that Cacao is more commonly known as the main ingredient in chocolate and that’s why hack ‘health experts’ like me advise eating chocolate that is at least 70% dark chocolate - because anything less is just junk food in my opinion.
You can get raw cacao in two main forms: raw cacao nibs and raw cacao powder. The company whose products I like the best is Navitas Naturals. I am in no way affiliated with Navitas, I just happen to like their products.
I buy the cacao nibs and eat a teaspoon sized helping twice a day. It comes in a self sealing, plastic bag that I usually take on the road if I’m travelling. I get a bit of a boost each time I eat them. I just pour the nibs into my hand and chuck ‘em back…ensuring that I chew them very well.
These things are truly a SUPER food and you want to eat them simply because they have to be the single best thing you can put in your mouth.
Eating them is nowhere near as pleasurable as chocolate, however, because they have more antioxidants than blueberries, green tea, cherries or red wine combined, I don’t have any trouble muscling them down.
Navitas also has a pure cacao powder which you can put in smoothies too.
Cacoa has one of the highest ORAC numbers of any food. ORAC is the standard for how well food can scavenge free radicals from your body and get rid of them. (That’s the bad stuff that causes inflammation, cancer, etc. ) Wikipedia has a good description of the ORAC rating.Â
Sadly…they don’t even have cacao nibs on their list!!!
Anyway, cacao nibs are loaded with Iron, Fiber and some essential fats. Good for your skin, hair and immune system. And whenever I eat them, I find that the effects last for hours and help me to relax and curb my appetite.
If you’re looking for a cost effective, extremely healthy addition to your lifestyle, Google this stuff and try it out.
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About the Author: I value good design, growth, effectiveness, simplicity, profitability, lots of sleep, tons of laughter and above all, freedom. If it makes money - it's a business. If it doesn't make money - it's a hobby. Period.
James | Sep 21, 2008 | Reply
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