The secret ingredient well-known by the Ancient American Civilizations
If I were to tell you there is one secret ingredient that can add years to your life, would you believe me? Well, you should.
This ingredient, well known by the Ancient Americans civilizations, was used for thousands of years. It was consumed as a beverage, with or without spices in ceremonies and rituals.
The secret ingredient is…cacao.
3,000 years ago before the Mayan culture, Ecuadorians were the first one to cultivate the fruit of cacao and their seeds — also called beans.
It was consumed in ceremonies and the beans were used as money. Cacao, at the time, was highly regarded. Women and children were forbidden to consume it.
Later, Spanish conquistadors appropriated this seed and turned the “Theobroma Cacao,” which means “food of the gods” in Greek, into a sweetened solid that would fit European tastes.
Is this cacao the same as chocolate?
Definitely not.
What we know as chocolate is actually mainly composed of:
- Sugar and glucose syrup
- Cacao butter (the fat extracted from cacao beans)
- Cacao paste (the mass obtained by grinding the nibs of roasted cacao beans)
- Whey powder
- Powdered milk
- Soy lecithin (an emulsifier added to the chocolate to help bind everything together)
The cacao used to make chocolate comes mainly from farms in West Africa harvested by child slaves, which makes chocolate, in theory, unethical.
The cacao I’m talking about is totally different.
Not only it is free from the energy of child abuse, but it is also:
- Ethically sourced
- Unsweetened
- Unprocessed
- Harvested with intention
It’s also made directly from cacao beans with nothing else added, and sometimes peeled by hand as it was done before machines were invented to do the job.
Cacao is not tempered, so its texture seems rougher. This way, the beans still contain all or most of their natural compounds.
Some people call cacao “raw cacao” even if it is wrong since raw cacao is actually the fruit. It’s more accurate to call it 100% cacao or “ceremonial” cacao as I will explain later.
So, how can cacao add years to your life?
Consuming cacao has a handful of proven beneficial health effects.
Sleep
When the chemical “theobromine” found in cacao is digested, it stimulates and prevents the calcification of the pineal gland.
The pineal gland is a gland located in the middle of your head and is about the size of a pea. It releases melatonin, the hormone responsible for circadian sleep cycles, mood balancing, and DMT secretions (lucid dreams).
Blood circulation
Nitric Oxide in cacao can cause blood veins to dilate up to 30% and increase circulation of the blood flow to the body — including the brain and sexual organs…
You know what happens when more blood flows to the sexual organs, right? This is why cacao is considered an aphrodisiac. However, it isn’t recommended to consume cacao if you have a high blood pressure.
Mood
Cacao is an SSRI and interacts with some neurotransmitter systems such as Phenylethylalanine, Dopamine, Serotonin, which are known to lift moods and stimulate the body.
It isn’t recommended to consume cacao if you are taking any MAOI type prescriptions to treat depression. Nevertheless, you can still join a cacao ceremony and not consume the cacao.
Fatigue
Cacao is higher in iron than any red meat which fights fatigue. It even has zinc which helps strengthen the immune system.
Appetite Suppressant
Cacao frees the mind from thoughts of insatiable hunger and thus acts as an appetite suppressant. People with eating disorders will often crack up for a piece of chocolate (yes, the bad one).
If a small piece of unethical chocolate can be enough to stop appetite, imagine what a small piece of ceremonial cacao can do.
Anti-ageing
Last but not least, being the highest food source of antioxidants, cacao refills the body’s needs for magnesium which is essential to all living cells and successfully fights the signs of ageing.
Reconnecting with the ‘Food of the Gods’
Many holistic practitioners are using this secret ingredient for healing purposes during what we call a “cacao ceremony.”
They know that consuming pure cacao as a beverage such as our meso-Americans ancestors used to can do wonders to our body.
A cacao ceremony is a group ritual made to manifest a deliberate intention, such as:
- Building community
- Healing emotional, physical and/or mental illnesses
- Maintaining wellness
- Connecting to spirit animals and guides
- Giving thanks and honour all our relationships with our ancestors
Those are just a few examples.
Of course, you don’t need to join a cacao ceremony to benefit from this secret ingredient. However, something special happens when you do. It seems that the cacao can capture the energy of the group and amplify its health benefits.
So, if you have the chance to join a cacao ceremony, I’d definitely recommend to give it a try.
How to prepare a cup of ceremonial cacao?
Now, you understand the multiple health benefits of cacao and how this secret ingredient can add years to your life. So how do you prepare it.
There are plenty of brands of cacao from Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico, etc. If you want to purchase ethical cacao from Hawaii, you can also have a look at Island Shark Chocolate. Personally, it’s the best but I’m a little bit biased because I have personally helped harvest the cacao here.
Once you receive your ethically sourced cacao, you will have to prepare it into a beverage. During the preparation, you have to focus on an intention and use the preparation as a meditative process.
I would suggest one of these three intentions:
- The intention to connect with yourself and with others
- The intention to bring the unconscious conscious
- The intention to balance energies within you — your emotions and your thoughts, your will-power, your surrendering, etc.
Then, follow these steps to prepare a cup or two of this ancient cacao beverage:
- Heat 100ml (3 oz) of water at 80°C/170°F (without boiling it)
- Chop your cacao into pieces as you focus on your intention
- Add the cacao chops into the hot water
- Mix it until it melts. You can use a blender if needed (be careful not to burn yourself)
- Optional: you can add some natural sweetener (honey, coconut sugar, agave) and spices (ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, chili powder, vanilla)
I personally love to add a bit of honey and ginger into my ceremonial cacao.
As I shared in my article, I Look 10 Years Younger Thanks to This Diet, I like to end my meals with a hot beverage and a piece of cacao. This is what has helped me stay young.
So, what are you waiting for to add this secret ingredient to your meals? Go ahead and enjoy the beauties of cacao!
