The Health Benefits of Cocoa Beans: Nature’s Super Bean

An average person in Switzerland eats nearly twenty pounds of chocolate per year. No other country consumes as much chocolate. Maybe it’s no coincidence that the Swiss life expectancy is over 80 years. That’s good enough for the second highest life expectancy in the world. Of course, it’s not just the chocolate, there are other things at play to cause such a high life expectancy throughout a nation.  But surprisingly enough, there are many health benefits of Cocoa Beans.

Antidepressant Action

Cocoa Beans contain monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Monoamine oxidases break down chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. Serotonin and dopamine both play essential functions in regulating mood and when there is a lack of these two chemicals depression may occur.

MAOIs block the monoamine oxidases from breaking down serotonin and dopamine allowing them to stay in the body longer.  The beans themselves also contain dopamine and serotonin so not only is the system getting a boost of mood-elevating substances when Cocoa Beans are consumed, but it is also getting a MOAI injection to keep those substances in the body for longer.

Heart Health

Polyphenols and magnesium are both found in Cocoa Beans. Polyphenols are a type of Antioxidant that is known to protect your cardiovascular system and help regulate blood pressure. Magnesium plays a factor in muscle control, and that includes the heart.

Insufficient magnesium can lead to heart complications. Cocoa Beans have also been shown to lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise “good” HDL cholesterol.

Diabetes Care

Adding Cocoa to a diet can improve insulin resistance, a key symptom of diabetes. When the body needs abnormally large amounts of insulin to regulate blood sugar levels diabetes or pre-diabetes is present.

Cocoa can increase insulin sensitivity in the body, so it requires less insulin to even out blood sugar levels. Cocoa Beans are also rich in proanthocyanidins, a particular type of polyphenol that has been shown to defend against cataracts which are commonly a result of diabetes. 

Cancer Defense

Cocoa Beans have been shown to stop the growth of cancer cells while not negatively affecting healthy cells. Flavonols found in Cocoa along with proanthocyanidins have shown to have protective qualities against cancer. These defensive mechanisms that these compounds inside Cocoa enact have shown to help treat many types of cancer including colon and prostate cancer.

With these many benefits, it’s no wonder that the chocolate-loving Swiss people have such long lives. Take a page out of their book and enjoy some Cocoa today!