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Raw cacao powder: superfood or toxic? (1 Viewer)

Willie Neslon

Willie Neslon

Footballguy
About a month ago i started taking raw cacao powder every day. It's been promoted as a "superfood" by some but also as toxic by others. It's been said that raw cacao has many health benefits including lowering blood pressure. My own personal experience with it has me sleeping much deeper, falling asleep quickly into rem sleep and dreaming every night. That's great but on the flip side the stuff makes me urinate more than i ever have. i find myself getting up and going to the bathroom constantly in the 10-12 hours after I ingest it. I've never been one to get up and piss many times over the course of the night but taking this has me up 4-5 times out of bed to go. Also, mild stomach and intestinal discomfort. I've been using the good kind, the organic powder and only about one heaping teaspoon or so. I find it is very tough to dissolve in liquid, a little easier to stir into water than almond milk (almost doesn't dissolve much at all).

I love falling asleep with ease and sleeping deeply but can't stand the constant need to piss. My internet research has shown that it's pretty much split down the middle in terms of "experts" who think the stuff is great vs. people who think the stuff is bad for you, causing kidney issues and adrenal fatigue. I'm wondering if anyone has had any success or any issues using this stuff. Anyone who uses it or has used it, can you share your experience with raw cacao, positive or negative? I'm thinking about ditching it because of the diuretic quality of it. Thanks.

 
I make a 64 oz breakfast shake every day that includes a tbsp of raw cacao powder (along with 20 or so other ingredients). My SO drinks about 12-16oz and I drink the rest over the course of the day and we have been doing this for months. I have only noticed benefits and certainly no diuretic effect.

 
Willie Neslon said:
About a month ago i started taking raw cacao powder every day. It's been promoted as a "superfood" by some but also as toxic by others. It's been said that raw cacao has many health benefits including lowering blood pressure. My own personal experience with it has me sleeping much deeper, falling asleep quickly into rem sleep and dreaming every night. That's great but on the flip side the stuff makes me urinate more than i ever have. i find myself getting up and going to the bathroom constantly in the 10-12 hours after I ingest it. I've never been one to get up and piss many times over the course of the night but taking this has me up 4-5 times out of bed to go. Also, mild stomach and intestinal discomfort. I've been using the good kind, the organic powder and only about one heaping teaspoon or so. I find it is very tough to dissolve in liquid, a little easier to stir into water than almond milk (almost doesn't dissolve much at all).

I love falling asleep with ease and sleeping deeply but can't stand the constant need to piss. My internet research has shown that it's pretty much split down the middle in terms of "experts" who think the stuff is great vs. people who think the stuff is bad for you, causing kidney issues and adrenal fatigue. I'm wondering if anyone has had any success or any issues using this stuff. Anyone who uses it or has used it, can you share your experience with raw cacao, positive or negative? I'm thinking about ditching it because of the diuretic quality of it. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Why not take it just before you go to bed?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Some people are allergic to it, you could be allergic to it.

Why not cut it out of your diet and see if this crap stops. It's certainly not worth any of that.

What happens if you eat dark chocolate?

 
Das Boot said:
Willie Neslon said:
About a month ago i started taking raw cacao powder every day. It's been promoted as a "superfood" by some but also as toxic by others. It's been said that raw cacao has many health benefits including lowering blood pressure. My own personal experience with it has me sleeping much deeper, falling asleep quickly into rem sleep and dreaming every night. That's great but on the flip side the stuff makes me urinate more than i ever have. i find myself getting up and going to the bathroom constantly in the 10-12 hours after I ingest it. I've never been one to get up and piss many times over the course of the night but taking this has me up 4-5 times out of bed to go. Also, mild stomach and intestinal discomfort. I've been using the good kind, the organic powder and only about one heaping teaspoon or so. I find it is very tough to dissolve in liquid, a little easier to stir into water than almond milk (almost doesn't dissolve much at all).

I love falling asleep with ease and sleeping deeply but can't stand the constant need to piss. My internet research has shown that it's pretty much split down the middle in terms of "experts" who think the stuff is great vs. people who think the stuff is bad for you, causing kidney issues and adrenal fatigue. I'm wondering if anyone has had any success or any issues using this stuff. Anyone who uses it or has used it, can you share your experience with raw cacao, positive or negative? I'm thinking about ditching it because of the diuretic quality of it. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Why not take it just before you go to bed?
Click to expand...
I meant for 10-12 hours after eating, not 10-12 hours later.

 
culdeus said:
Some people are allergic to it, you could be allergic to it.

Why not cut it out of your diet and see if this crap stops. It's certainly not worth any of that.

What happens if you eat dark chocolate?
Click to expand...
well, I like being able to sleep well and fall asleep quickly. I've always had sleep issues. I'm wondering if there's anything I can do differently and keep it in my diet.

 
First off, based on your posts in the recent vegetable thread, I've gone the smoothie route and I'm loving it. I'm using this recipe which tastes pretty darn good. So thanks for getting me hooked. I've read a little that cacao is very good for you and I was planning on adding it to the smoothie soon so I'm interested in anything that you find.

 
I put cocoa nibs in my smoothie & have never noticed that it makes me piss more.

Have you researched "cocoa powder urinate" or keywords like that?

If anything try and cut back or not use as much. Maybe it's the almond milk? Thst stuff gives me the shizits if I drink too much.

 
NutterButter said:
First off, based on your posts in the recent vegetable thread, I've gone the smoothie route and I'm loving it. I'm using this recipe which tastes pretty darn good. So thanks for getting me hooked. I've read a little that cacao is very good for you and I was planning on adding it to the smoothie soon so I'm interested in anything that you find.
Click to expand...
I've read cacao is very good and very bad hence the thread. I cut back last night and took it early with dinner and slept lousy.

 
Quez said:
I put cocoa nibs in my smoothie & have never noticed that it makes me piss more.

Have you researched "cocoa powder urinate" or keywords like that?

If anything try and cut back or not use as much. Maybe it's the almond milk? Thst stuff gives me the shizits if I drink too much.
Click to expand...
I've googled everything. I switched from almond milk to water because it was easier to dissolve in water. Never had a problem with almond milk like you describe though. Maybe I'll give the nibs a shot. Cocoa is roasted cacao I believe so what you're taking is going to have a different effect.

 
I'm not sure why they would help you sleep other than maybe general antiinflammatory properties. Do they give you vivid dreams as well?

 
Chaka, would you mind listing your 20 ingredients or point me to another thread if you already have? I've recently got back into making shakes and all I use now are a bunch of vegetables, fruits, and flax seed.

 
I don't need a sleep aid. I was asking if anyone had any first hand insight on cacao because there is conflicting information out there about it. Some say it's great, some say it's toxic. If anyone has takenit , has had benefits or issues with it, I'd appreciate the feedback.

 
Dude, not sure why you are so quick to dismiss the possiblity you might be allergic to it. It's one of the most common food allergies there is and maybe, just maybe the issues with it are related to allergic reactions of some consequence.

 
Raw cacoa is a rich source of antioxidants and contains a high level of flavonoids, which may have beneficial cardiovascular effects. It does not work as well when you take it with milk.

 
culdeus said:
Dude, not sure why you are so quick to dismiss the possiblity you might be allergic to it. It's one of the most common food allergies there is and maybe, just maybe the issues with it are related to allergic reactions of some consequence.
Click to expand...
i'm not dismissing anything, i'm just asking if anyone has any insight. Google "cacao superfood" then google "cacao toxic" and it seems like it's a 50-50 split. I'll just move on. Looks like nobody knows here.

 
chauncey said:
Chaka, would you mind listing your 20 ingredients or point me to another thread if you already have? I've recently got back into making shakes and all I use now are a bunch of vegetables, fruits, and flax seed.
Click to expand...
I put together a list of vegetables that have strong high fiber/low sugar ratio (below) and I try to pull from that depending on what is in my fridge (I add maybe 3-6 of them depending on how much I have of each). On top of the veggies I almost always add brazil nuts, ground flax seed, psyllium husk, raw cacao powder, whey protein, ground cinnamon, ground oyster mushroom powder, fresh ginger, fresh tumeric, green tea powder, vitamin c, lugol's iodine and fermented cod liver oil capsules. My GF likes it when I add frozen berries too (rasberries and blackberries have the best fiber:sugar ratio).

Endive
Chicory greens
Avocado
Collards
Mustard greens
Spinach
Asparagus
Celery
Radishes
Chard
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Zucchini
 
Chaka said:
chauncey said:
Chaka, would you mind listing your 20 ingredients or point me to another thread if you already have? I've recently got back into making shakes and all I use now are a bunch of vegetables, fruits, and flax seed.
Click to expand...
I put together a list of vegetables that have strong high fiber/low sugar ratio (below) and I try to pull from that depending on what is in my fridge (I add maybe 3-6 of them depending on how much I have of each). On top of the veggies I almost always add brazil nuts, ground flax seed, psyllium husk, raw cacao powder, whey protein, ground cinnamon, ground oyster mushroom powder, fresh ginger, fresh tumeric, green tea powder, vitamin c, lugol's iodine and fermented cod liver oil capsules. My GF likes it when I add frozen berries too (rasberries and blackberries have the best fiber:sugar ratio).

Endive
Chicory greens
Avocado
Collards
Mustard greens
Spinach
Asparagus
Celery
Radishes
Chard
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Click to expand...
jeebus. can you fly yet? x-ray vision?

 
Maik Jeaunz said:
Chaka said:
chauncey said:
Chaka, would you mind listing your 20 ingredients or point me to another thread if you already have? I've recently got back into making shakes and all I use now are a bunch of vegetables, fruits, and flax seed.
Click to expand...
I put together a list of vegetables that have strong high fiber/low sugar ratio (below) and I try to pull from that depending on what is in my fridge (I add maybe 3-6 of them depending on how much I have of each). On top of the veggies I almost always add brazil nuts, ground flax seed, psyllium husk, raw cacao powder, whey protein, ground cinnamon, ground oyster mushroom powder, fresh ginger, fresh tumeric, green tea powder, vitamin c, lugol's iodine and fermented cod liver oil capsules. My GF likes it when I add frozen berries too (rasberries and blackberries have the best fiber:sugar ratio).

Endive
Chicory greens
Avocado
Collards
Mustard greens
Spinach
Asparagus
Celery
Radishes
Chard
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Click to expand...
jeebus. can you fly yet? x-ray vision?
Click to expand...
Super Mega Awesome Power Dumps.

 
I don't think "superfood" and "toxic" are mutually exclusive. In some cases, it's precisely a food's toxicity that can make it beneficial. Hormesis. Cacao is known for its polyphenol content, and polyphenols do seem to work via hormesis (Part I, Part II).

Superfood or toxic? Why not both?

Also, I'm sticking with the idea that if cacao helps you sleep, it's more likely because of its general anti-inflammatory effects than because of its tryptophan content. (Compare turkey.) Reduced inflammation is associated with improved sleep and with crazy-vivid dreams, which seems like it fits the OP's experience.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Quez said:
Chaka said:
Quez said:
That must taste horrible.
Click to expand...
Nope, it's delicious.
Click to expand...
I put a ton of crap in my smoothies but none of this stuff. Maybe I am doing it wrong...

What about bananas, strawberries, carrots?

Can you give a few more specific examples of some of your easier concoctions? Some of the better ones.
Click to expand...
There is no easier concoction, I usually pull 3-6 veggies from my fridge and I have all the other ingredients in containers that I pull from almost every morning. For example this morning I had dandelion greens, endive, celery, and red cabbage on hand so they went into the shake as my vegetable components. I then added all the other ingredients I listed above (cinnamon, oyster mushroom powder, vitamin c, whey protein, brazil nuts etc) and viola breakfast shake!

Like I said I specifically targeted vegetables with high ratios of fiber to sugar (lots of fiber with little sugar). I don't like using ingredients that have less than a 1:1 ratio (my occasional exceptions are beets and red cabbage). As a general rule I try to keep my sugar intake below 25 grams per day and my fiber over 30 grams per day.

Here is list of ingredients I regularly pull from organized by ratio of fiber:sugar (bigger numbers indicate lots of fiber and little sugar):

Psyllium Husk - has no sugar
Cinnamon - 24.47
Avocado 22.67
Flaxseed 17.61
Endive 12.4
Collards 8.69
Raw cacao powder - 6.0
Chicory greens 5.71
Spinach 5.23
Dandelion greens 4.93
Brazil Nuts 3.23
Almonds 2.87
Turmeric root - 2.43
Mustard greens 2.42
Oyster Mushrooms 2.07
Kale 1.59
Broccoli 1.53
Rasberries 1.47
Chard 1.45
Coconut meat, dried 1.44
Celery 1.19
Ginger root 1.18
Asparagus 1.12
Blackberries 1.08
Cauliflower 1.05
Radishes 0.86
Carrots 0.591
Red Cabbage 0.548
Beets 0.414
Strawberries 0.409
Banana 0.212

As you can see carrots, strawberries and banana have more sugar than fiber and, particularly in the case of bananas which have only 2.6 grams of fiber for every 12+ grams of sugar. Not worth it as a daily smoothie supplement in my book. But, again, you must remember that I target less than 25 grams of sugar (and at least 30 grams of fiber) every day.

 
Chaka said:
Maik Jeaunz said:
Chaka said:
chauncey said:
Chaka, would you mind listing your 20 ingredients or point me to another thread if you already have? I've recently got back into making shakes and all I use now are a bunch of vegetables, fruits, and flax seed.
Click to expand...
I put together a list of vegetables that have strong high fiber/low sugar ratio (below) and I try to pull from that depending on what is in my fridge (I add maybe 3-6 of them depending on how much I have of each). On top of the veggies I almost always add brazil nuts, ground flax seed, psyllium husk, raw cacao powder, whey protein, ground cinnamon, ground oyster mushroom powder, fresh ginger, fresh tumeric, green tea powder, vitamin c, lugol's iodine and fermented cod liver oil capsules. My GF likes it when I add frozen berries too (rasberries and blackberries have the best fiber:sugar ratio).

Endive
Chicory greens
Avocado
Collards
Mustard greens
Spinach
Asparagus
Celery
Radishes
Chard
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Click to expand...
jeebus. can you fly yet? x-ray vision?
Click to expand...
Super Mega Awesome Power Dumps.
Click to expand...
Seriously I think Trey Parker came up with the premise for The Stick of Truth after using the bathroom after me.

 
Chaka said:
As you can see carrots, strawberries and banana have more sugar than fiber and, particularly in the case of bananas which have only 2.6 grams of fiber for every 12+ grams of sugar. Not worth it as a daily smoothie supplement in my book. But, again, you must remember that I target less than 25 grams of sugar (and at least 30 grams of fiber) every day.
Click to expand...
Related to my mention of hormesis above, what do you think about the idea that (unrefined) sugar is awesome?

 
Maurile Tremblay said:
I don't think "superfood" and "toxic" are mutually exclusive. In some cases, it's precisely a food's toxicity that can make it beneficial. Hormesis. Cacao is known for its polyphenol content, and polyphenols do seem to work via hormesis (Part I, Part II).

Superfood or toxic? Why not both?

Also, I'm sticking with the idea that if cacao helps you sleep, it's more likely because of its general anti-inflammatory effects than because of its tryptophan content. (Compare turkey.) Reduced inflammation is associated with improved sleep and with crazy-vivid dreams, which seems like it fits the OP's experience.
Click to expand...
A very thoughtful post. I am convinced though that the effect on sleep is an amino acid issue based on my experience with protein shakes. The shakes gave me all kinds of negative side effects (acne, hair loss, bloating/constipation, belly fat) but I slept great and had a lot of energy, especially feeling great after workouts. I was told the effect on sleep was a direct result of the amino acids and the way my body was able to absorb them with the shake. When drinking the cacao powder/water mix I felt the effect on my sleep was similar without the other side effects the protein shake had but with these other side effects (frequent urination, intestinal discomfort). As someone who has had trouble sleeping through the night for many years I was hopeful that cacao was going to be a godsend but it seems it's just something else I can't tolerate well. I tried taking it after a workout yesterday, much earlier in the day on an empty stomach but that had an even worse effect in terms of the side effects and I slept lousy last night as well. I was hoping to hit a point where my body adjusted to it, i could use it and get the benefits without the side effects but it looks like that will not be the case.

 
Maurile Tremblay said:
Chaka said:
As you can see carrots, strawberries and banana have more sugar than fiber and, particularly in the case of bananas which have only 2.6 grams of fiber for every 12+ grams of sugar. Not worth it as a daily smoothie supplement in my book. But, again, you must remember that I target less than 25 grams of sugar (and at least 30 grams of fiber) every day.
Click to expand...
Related to my mention of hormesis above, what do you think about the idea that (unrefined) sugar is awesome?
Click to expand...
I think I hate ####### nutrition.

 
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