Cacao and honey
Yesterday afternoon I decided to make myself some delicious herbal nourishment ~ raw cacao and honey chocolate. Scroll down for the recipe.
How exactly are two such yummy foods have beneficial actions?
Cacao, Theobroma cacao, is an Amazonian native which has both flowers and fruit grow out of the trunk. The seeds from the pods are what is made into chocolate .The pulp apparently tastes divine (something else to add to my bucket list).
🌱Cardiovascular system and blood sugar balance ~ multiple studies have been shown to find a lower incidence of diabetes, stroke and heart disease and support for high blood pressure and cholesterol.
🌱Synegist ~ it combines well with other herbs to enhance the effects of the herbs blended with it.
🌱Endocannibonoid action ~ this may explain why chocolate makes us feel so good. Did I need another reason to want to eat it?
🌱Antioxidant flavonoinds and nutrients ~ due to it supporting the blood vessels and the flow of blood, that in turn may account for how we feel so clear minded when we eat it. Being high in magnesium and iron helps support the nervous system and brain.
Honey. A friend gave me a book about the health benefits of honey and it has been interesting reading. Honey was the first port of call for many people before the advent of antibiotics. It seems that modern researchers are just catching up now with the rise in antibiotic resistance.
🐝Topically ~ honey was used historically for external wounds, infections, burns, sunburn, fungal issues, ulcers and gangrene. In recent times its benefits have been studied and proven. I think most of us know about high UMF honey being used in some hospitals but any honey has been found to have a positive influence on many topical issues studied.
🐝Internally it has been studied to show benefits for gut flora, constipation and diarrhoea, weight loss, cancer, blood sugar balance and as an electrolyte for high performance athletes.
🐝Cataracts and eye infections ~ in South America in particular there arer stingless bees (that sounds like a dream to me) and their honey has been found to have particular benefits for these.
Honey chocolate:
250g cacao butter
200g cacao powder
1/4c honey
1tsp vanilla extract
Melt the cacao butter in a stainless steel bowl over boiling water making sure the doesn't touch the water and that you don't drip water in the bowl. Remove from the bain marie when melted. Add sifted cacoa powder, honey and vanilla. Mix well. Pour onto a silicon lined tray or silicon moulds and cool to harden.
