Wellness & Staying Healthy

Cacao Health Benefits

If you are a chocolate lover then you are really going to love this blog, Today I will be giving you every excuse in the book of why it will be OK to indulge in this rich delight called Cacao. You will learn these health facts about using cacao:

What is cacao and History?

Health benefits of cacao

So let's get to it....

What Is Cacao and Its History

Let's take a look at the definition of the cacao plant....

ca·ca·o

kəˈkou,kəˈkāō/

noun

1.

bean like seeds from which cocoa, cocoa butter, and chocolate are made.
2.

the small tropical American evergreen tree that bears these seeds, which are contained in large, oval pods that grow on the trunk. The tree is now cultivated mainly in West Africa.

The pod of the cacao plant has seeds that look similar to coffee beans when dried but larger in size.

So Let's get some History on the cacao plant.....

The Olmecs (1500-400 BC) were almost certainly the first humans to consume chocolate, originally in the form of a drink. They crushed the cocoa beans, mixed them with water and added spices, chillies and herbs (Coe's Theory). They began cultivating cocoa in equatorial Mexico. Over time, the Mayans (600 BC) and Aztecs (400 AD) developed successful methods for cultivating cocoa as well. The cocoa bean was used as a monetary unit and as a measuring unit, 400 beans equalling a Zontli and 8000 equalling a Xiquipilli. During their wars with the Aztecs and the Mayans, the Chimimeken people's preferred method of levying taxes in conquered regions was in the form of cocoa beans.

For these civilizations, cocoa was a symbol of abundance. It was used in religious rituals dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god responsible for bringing the cocoa tree to man, to Chak ek Chuah, the Mayan patron saint of cocoa and as an offering at the funerals of noblemen.