Raw cacao nibs. Photo by kevindooley.

Chocolate is the most eaten food in the world, but, if one is trying to get healthy or lose some body fat, one of the most forbidden.
I’m not talking about that Hershey bar at Wal-Mart. I’m talkin real, raw, unadulterated cacao (ku-cow). The real McCoy, the thing that Hershey bar started as. It’s not what you think. Ill tell you why…
First off, if you’re reading this and you one of those hardcore guys who think that guys should eat only meat and potatoes to get strong, you need to get a brain and keep reading. Getting strong, putting on muscle, increasing your endurance is much easier when your hormones are in balance, and the right nutrients are present.
You see, cacao is actually in the nut family. Nuts are naturally high in minerals and cacao is no exception. It’s long known that magnesium is very beneficial for increasing test levels, especially when taken at night. Raw cacao happens to be the number one food in the world in magnesium. Higher test levels, obviously means stronger muscles, though not necessarily bigger. Few know that magnesium is also the number one mineral that your heart utilizes. More magnesium=stronger heart. Stronger heart=better endurance, work capacity, and recovery time, stronger organs and better overall health. The dark brown nut has lots of good fats as well. Fats are necessary for the integrity of cellular structures, integrity of the nervous systems and the eyes. These fats are also a vital role in supplying your body with cholesterol, the one thing that your body needs to produce steroid hormones, testosterone, DHT, etc. Good stuff so far? Its gets better. Cacao also contains arganine, and we all know what that does right? Increased size of EVERYTHING. Other significant amino acids, tryptophan, it also contains dopamine, the feel good stuff. It gets better.
Cacao happens to be the number one food in the world in antioxidant concentration. On the ORAC scale, its number one at over 13,000, 30 times what green tea has, 20 times what red wine has. What do antioxidants do? They protect your cells from any damage. They feed your immune system, without an immune system you can not recover from your training.

Yes, it does get better. Cacao also contains theobromine. Theobromine is a bronchial dilator as well as a vasodilator which also leads to better heart function and better recovery, and, increased size of EVERYTHING. One last gem of the cacao nut. Cacao contains MAO inhibitors. These compounds keep the neurotransmitters in the blood stream for longer periods boosting brain function.
Are those the only jewels of the cacao nut, probably not. All foods contain substances that scientists haven’t identified yet that are still beneficial to the body. I have personally eaten raw cacao and can vouch for the benefits listed above. I felt better, I had more strength, the wife was happy. Just my two cents to the often neglected side of the lifting community.