Health Benefits of Black Cocoa Powder

Updated on February 10th, 2020
Benefits of Black Cocoa Powder

Cocoa, an English alternative for the Latin term Theobroma Cacao, is a widely-renowned.

Fermented from cacao tree seeds, cocoa is the primary manufacturing ingredient of chocolates and has excellent medical benefits, including its inevitable healing power.

Cacao is a low-fat ingredient of the cocoa bean and is finely grounded. Cocoa is an excellent source of nutrients and minerals and provides a wide range of health benefits.

Balck Cocoa Powder offers a variety of health benefits such as stabilizing blood pressure, an excellent supply of antioxidant, supporting brain health, maintenance of cholesterol level, curing bronchial asthma, treating diabetes, obesity control, excellent healing powers, strengthening cardiovascular health, treating constipation, mood buster, cancer prevention, and supporting skin health.

How Effective is  Black Cocoa Powder for Your Health?

Black Cocoa powder offers a wide range of benefits for your health. Some of its benefits include:

Heart disease: Studies reveal that cocoa lowers the risk of heart disease, regulates blood pressure, and improves the blood-vessel functions.

High blood pressure: Studies indicate that consuming cocoa(1) products or dark chocolate for 2 to 18 weeks helps reduce the systolic blood pressure level by 2.8 to 4.7 mmHg and the diastolic blood pressure level by 1.9 to 2.8 mmHg in individuals with normal or high blood pressure.

Cocoa also helps resolve various symptoms associated with premature aging, diabetes, constipation, chronic fatigue syndrome, diarrhea, lung congestion, liver disorders, asthma, bronchitis, and kidney ailments.

[Also Read: Health Benefits of Decaf Coffee]

Health Benefits of Black Cocoa Powder on Your Body

With excellent nutritional value, cocoa is one of the essential products to maintain good health.

Also, it has a nominal level of cholesterol and an excellent mix of essential saturated fats such as stearic acid and oleic acid. Here’s a list of top benefits black cocoa power offers:

1. Regulates Cholesterol Level

figs help in lowering the cholesterol levels
Image: shutterstock

According to recent findings, cocoa exhibits hypoglycemic as well as hypocholesterolemic effects on both glucose and cholesterol level respectively.

Studies concluded that cocoa leads to a noticeable reduction in LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose level. Also, consuming cocoa improves the healthy cholesterol levels in your blood which leads to reducing the risks of chronic heart diseases.

2. Cures Diabetes

Diabetes can severely damage the glucose levels in the body. Incorporating cocoa-based products in your daily diet demonstrates significant improvement in insulin resistance and glucose hypermetabolism. This function helps in regulating blood sugar levels.

Another study concluded that the protective antioxidant in cocoa comes handy in treating long-term diabetes which tends to aggravate the complications associated with diabetes.

3. Treats Bronchial Asthma

Asthma
Image:ShutterStock

Cocoa helps heal bronchial complications. Also, the presence of alkaloids like xanthine and theophylline(2) aids in relaxing bronchial spasm, constricted opening, and bronchial tubes.  This also helps enhance breathing flow along with treating a wide range of chronic allergies that can result in asthma.

[Also Read: Natural Remedies to Treat Asthma]

4. Healing Power

Cocoa extracts is a significant ingredient in leading wound-healing and therapeutic products.

Scientists believe that cocoa extract helps in preventing the growth of infectious bacteria, including the most harmful ones such as Helicobacter pylori.

5. Reduces Obesity

The regular consumption of cocoa helps modulate lipid metabolism to decrease the synthesis of various fatty acids. It helps manage obesity along with improving thermogenesis, i.e., the heat generation mechanism in white adipose tissues and the liver.

6. Promotes Cardiovascular Health

cardiovascular
Image: Shutterstock

Cocoa is an excellent source of catechin, procyanidin, and epicatechin having exceptional antioxidant properties that help strengthen the heart and protects the cells. Also, cocoa powder avoids the risk of fatal blood clots that can lead to blockage of the blood vessels resulting in severe cardiac failure.

[Read: Benefits of Barley Grass Juice Powder]

Delicious Recipes of Cocoa Powder

Black Forest Meringue Torte

Ingredients You Will Need:

  • 8 large eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups of cocoa powder
  • 2 1/4 cups of sugar
  • 14 ounces of pitted cherries
  • 10 1/2 ounces of dark chocolate

For Mousse (Chocolate Cream)

  1. 1/4 cup of sugar
  2. 2 1/2 cups of  heavy whipped cream
  3. 10 1/2 ounces of melted dark chocolate

How to Prepare:

  1. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Now take 4 baking sheets.
  2. Take a large bowl and beat sugar with egg whites for 5 to 6 minutes, until it turns glossy and thick.
  3. Sieve in cocoa and beat to merge.
  4. Divide the mixture into different trays and spread in separate 10-inch discs. Next, bake it for 2 hours till the combination turns crisp. Turn the oven off and let the discs to cool.
  5. Take a medium pan, bring the rest of cherry syrup to boil on moderate heat. Now simmer for 10 to 15 minutes till the syrup is reduced to two-thirds of the original amount.
  6. Whisk sugar and cream in a bowl to prepare the cream mousse. Pour in the melted chocolate, and fold to combine.
  7. For assembling, place a meringue disc on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread over one-third of the mousse and top it with one-fourth of the cherries.
  8. Lastly, you can repeat the layers, using with rest of cherries and mousse. Drizzle the syrup over and serve.

Chocolate Cutout Cookies

Chocolate Cookies
Image:ShutterStock

Ingredients You Will Need:

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 cup of unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup of black cocoa
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 1/4 cups of King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup of Dutch-process cocoa

How to Prepare:

  1. Add baking powder, vanilla, sugar, butter, espresso powder in a bowl.
  2. Beating the eggs and butter into this and blend well.
  3. Next, freeze the dough for half an hour.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375°F and gently grease 2 baking sheets with parchment.
  5. Next, divide the dough into two halves. Sprinkle some extra cocoa to avoid sticking.
  6. Roll 1/8-inch thick dough pieces, one at a time.
  7. Use a cookie cutter to cut out into the desired shapes. Put the cookies on the baking sheets.
  8. Now bake the cookies for some 10 minutes till their edges are firm and it gives chocolate aroma.
  9. Remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool, then decorate and serve with a smile.

[Read: Benefits of Dark Chocolate]

Precautions & Side Effects of  Black Cocoa Powder

Consuming cocoa is widely regarded as safe for most people. However, as cocoa consists of caffeine, consuming it in large amount can lead to various caffeine-related adverse effects such as nervousness, sleeplessness, fast heartbeat, and increased urination.

Cocoa is a significant part of modern cuisine around the world in the form of chocolate.

Black Cocoa offers several health benefits such as an improved brain and heart health, decreased inflammation, weight and blood sugar control, and healthy skin as well as teeth.

Remember that cocoa still contains a substantial amount of fats and sugar, so in case you are going to use it, try sticking to a reasonable quantity and combine it with a well-balanced and healthy diet.

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