Cocoa beans

The evergreen cocoa tree belongs to the genus Theobrom and the Strekuliev family. The South American region is considered the birthplace of the cocoa tree. Currently, cocoa is cultivated in a tropical climate. The common name cocoa means not only a type of plant, but also a drink, as well as a powder that is obtained as a result of processing cocoa beans. It is believed that people have been using the beneficial properties of cocoa beans since about 1100 BC, when the first tinctures and drinks began to be made from the fruits of the cocoa tree.

Currently, cocoa beans are used as a powder in the confectionery industry, whole fruits of the tree are popular in medicine, including folk. The taste and consumer properties of cocoa beans differ depending on the variety of the product. Perhaps the following varieties of cocoa can be distinguished: cryollo, forastero, trinitario and nasional.

Composition of cocoa beans

The chemical composition of cocoa beans includes a sufficient amount of useful natural substances. Scientists still continue to study more than 300 different biologically active substances that are found in the fruits of the cocoa tree. Among them are indispensable and valuable for the human body. For example, magnesium, tyramine, serotonin, histamine, etc. In addition, caffeine, organic acids, saccharides, cellulose, tannin tannin and polysaccharides are present in cocoa beans. Perhaps it is in the vitamin-mineral composition that the exceptional benefits of cocoa beans for the human body lie.

The benefits of cocoa beans

Cocoa beans contain the substance tryptophan, which has a calming and antidepressant effect. It is not for nothing that chocolate is said to contain a "hormone of joy. " A few years ago, Harvard professor Norman Gollenberg conducted large-scale research as a result of which he proved that the benefit of cocoa beans is that with regular use, the product is able to prevent myocardial infarctions, diabetes, the occurrence of malignant cancers and stroke. Cocoa beans received such a wide range of possibilities due to the content of epicatechin in their composition. Scientists at another respected University of Münster have identified kokohil in the composition of kako-beans, a substance that contributes to the growth and repair of damaged skin cells.

This property of cocoa beans has become widespread in the production of medical healing drugs. However, the main discovery can be considered the results of studies that prove that one cup of a drink made of natural cocoa beans contains three times more antioxidants than green tea and five times more than black. Researchers rightly argue that the benefits of natural cocoa beans and products derived from them are much greater than those of cocoa powder. However, products based on natural cocoa beans will differ not only in taste, but also in a much higher price.