Jump to content

Raw Toxic Chocolate


Recommended Posts

Raw Toxic Chocolate

by Paul Nison

 

 

This month my article is about chocolate. I chose to write abut this topic because many raw food eaters today are being misled and told that it is healthy. It is dangerous and people need to know the truth.

 

More True Information on the Negative Effects of Cacao…

 

Since my last article on the negative effects of cacao, many people have agreed with me how toxic it really is. On the other hand, there were some people who would not change their mind about it no matter what the cost. In fact, those people became angry with me. The truth can hurt, but I’m just the messenger. As I said in my last article about cacao, I wish it were healthy, but the fact is it is not! Whether you are willing to admit it or not is your decision, but there are so many foods that are proven to be healthy, why continue to take some that are up for debate? Many people are being misled to believe cacao and other raw foods are healthy. Many of the people who promote it, have a good heart and really feel it is a good food, but I know there are many who sell this product knowing it is toxic and addictive, just to make money.

 

I recently spoke to a good friend of mine Jeremy Saffaron. Jeremy has been involved in the raw food community for a very long time. He has the author of a raw food recipe book and also an excellent resource guide. Jeremy told me he was the first person to do any raw research with cacao involving the raw food movement. He spent 4 years (1999 -2003) studying the effects of cacao and has dedicated countless hours surfing the net, talking with specialists, and even got involved with the University of Hawaii, who’s agriculture branch is looking into raw cacao toxicity.

 

When Jeremy first found out about cacao he was so excited about it. He sold it for a short while (2001-2002) and was the first person to let others in the raw food world know about it. Again I repeat, JEREMY WAS THE FIRST PERSON IN THE RAW WORLD to let others know about cacao.

 

He turned on many raw food promoters to it because he believed at the time that is was an amazing discovery as a great tasting, nutritionally loaded food and it was also a way to connect with his friends who were still addicted to cooked chocolate even though they were raw otherwise. Another big turn on was the fact that many of the daily coffee drinkers he knew in the yoga scene were glad to switch to raw cacao from their roasted coffee. Jeremy told me he never drank coffee in his life, but as a kid did eat chocolate from the store. But 13 years ago, he stopped eating chocolate because he found out about the bugs that were in all chocolate. (I mentioned that in my last article about cacao.)

 

With all the excitement about raw chocolate and all the benefits, Jeremy was thrilled to get the product to the public. However, when Jeremy was selling it, he did warn people that all the studies on it were not in yet so to be careful not to over due it until further research is conducted. It was also very cost prohibitive at the time at twenty five cents a bean, plus each bean had to be personally peeled to eat them. (By the way, this should be a hint about how much can and should be eaten in one sitting.)

 

After eating cacao for six months, Jeremy didn’t really experience negative side effects, but he noticed those around him whose health and digestion weren’t as efficient as his started to experience issues with the cacao. That was the first sign that lead him to begin to study the negative effects of cacao.

 

I myself have a similar experience. I consumed cacao in small amounts as well, but unlike Jeremy, I felt the difference every time I tried it. It didn’t make me feel good. A good friend of mine, doctor Fred Bisci ,a raw foodist for about 40 years, also confirmed what Jeremy and I suspected, cacao is toxic!

 

Jeremy’s findings were as follows:

 

No animal in nature will eat it unless tricked into it with milk or sugar.

If you can convince an animal to eat it then it greatly shortens their life span if it doesn’t kill them immediately.

The native people who ate it only ate the fruit of the theobroma (which contains all the benefits and none of the detriments) and only used the cacao seed as an addition to their psychedelic brew ahyuwasca and as a medicine in emergencies.

Native people did not eat it as a food nor as a supplement, only for sacred use.

Cacao is one of the most addictive substances known

Cacao is super toxic to the liver

It acts as a stimulant and agitates the kidneys and adrenal glands. This can cause: insomnia, nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night, shakes, and extreme energy shifts

It is extremely clogging due to the toxins carried in the oils contained within. Plus the fat chains are highly complex and require tons of work to break down.

The result of long term use is a high level of liver and blood toxicity which can cause extreme mood swings, angry outbursts, violence, depression, paranoia, & dizziness.

In some cases of long term use, there are also psychological effects that range from addictive tendencies, sexual dysfunction, violent outbursts, lack of reasoning, and decreased will.

At mega does of 40 plus beans, it acts as a hallucinogen and can cause many effects attributed to LSD or Hashish

Jeremy concludes that his personal study (it took 1.5 years of him eating it to see extreme negative effects) and his friends showed him clearly the negative effects of cacao.

 

From my study it seems that the people using cooked cacao powder had less toxic effects than those using roasted cacao beans whole and far, far less than those using whole, raw cacao beans.

 

There are a good amount of people who have experienced the same negative affect of cacao and have changed their opinion about it being such a super food. I personally can’t see anyone taking it for a long time not feeling the negative effects on some level. A big problem is, at that point so many people are already addicted to it and can’t stop even if they wanted to. Very similar to the addiction people have to cooked food. They just can’t except that it’s not healthy for them so they make excuses to keep consuming it.

 

Jeremy and I both feel the sadness that raw food promoters command so much public attention and use it to sell anything they can. It should be information, not products that people seek out.

 

The bottom line is no matter what someone feels, or believes, cacao is toxic! Science will confirm it. You may be able to consume the drug cacao and not have felt any negative affects, but in time you will. Please do not wait to experience the negative affects and get off this drug as soon as you can.

 

For those of you who say, I am always knocking someone else’s glory or product, I can just reply by saying I am concerned about each individual’s health. That is the most important thing to me. I know what it is like to live with disease and I want to help as many people as possible avoid it. I am so blessed to know people like Jeremy who have an open mind and continue to share the same mission with me of bringing the truth to the surface and helping others.

 

Jeremy and I acknowledge there are many toxic things that people do everyday from using a computer, to driving a car, from drinking coffee to smoking to all sorts of wild practices and toxic substances and experiences. Each one must make a choice and it’s our hope that people with power use it responsibly.

 

Jeremy wanted me to share with my readers a warning to always study and research before promoting or selling anything. He learned the hard way. Years ago he promoted the use of coconuts because he lived in the tropics and knew the benefits well. The down side was people wanting coconuts and not realizing that the answer was to go where they grow. Instead they found a way to engage in exploitation and buy toxic formaldehyde dipped bleached nuts wrapped in plastic irradiated from Thailand. He went back and tried to dissuade people from eating the toxic nuts but they didn’t seem to care. Cacao seems the same, those who want to engage with it will, toxic or not. (Once again after recently getting tons of coconuts right off the trees in Florida, I feel such a difference after eating Thai coconuts.)

 

Jeremy’s final stand on cacao is it is for medicinal, sacred and entertainment usage only, it is not a health food! My personal, final opinion is that we should only consume foods for nutritional needs, anything else will lead to disease, especially the way we overuse it!

 

 

Like I said before, there's too many people doing the raw lifestyle the wrong way, getting caught up in overeating addictive "raw" superfoods/concoctions for entertainment and and not getting the results they should all in the name of transitioning.

 

Food isn't supposed to be so yummy that you act like a crack addict at the anticipation of getting some....the food we are supposed to eat replaces what we just lost, namely water and causes as little disruption to our senses as possible to the point where it's almost meaningless.

 

Bigz a.k.a F1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow. I've had a raw cacao nib once. I wasn't that impressed with it so I haven't ever ponied up the $20+ for a small bag of the stuff. If half of the article is true, this is some bad $h*^!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow. I've had a raw cacao nib once. I wasn't that impressed with it so I haven't ever ponied up the $20+ for a small bag of the stuff. If half of the article is true, this is some bad $h*^!

 

Yeah there's harsher articles than that but it gets the point across.

 

Raw "gourmet" period is pretty crappy, with all the olive oils, nuts/fats, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you posted this article over at Raw Food Talk yet? I know that alot of people over there use raw choc. nibs.

 

They banned me over there because I'm a Fruitarian and post my pics, everybody wants to know how I do everything without the need of de-hydraters, supplements, greens, raw placebos, etc...

 

It's almost as if I'm a threat or something because I go against what they preach....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They banned me over there because I'm a Fruitarian and post my pics, everybody wants to know how I do everything without the need of de-hydraters, supplements, greens, raw placebos, etc...

 

It's almost as if I'm a threat or something because I go against what they preach....

 

 

Well that bites. I guess if I copied and pasted it they would ban me too since Alissa sells raw cocoa nibs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They banned me over there because I'm a Fruitarian and post my pics, everybody wants to know how I do everything without the need of de-hydraters, supplements, greens, raw placebos, etc...

 

It's almost as if I'm a threat or something because I go against what they preach....

 

 

Well that bites. I guess if I copied and pasted it they would ban me too since Alissa sells raw cocoa nibs.

 

Well if you value your membership there I wouldn't.....because you won't last very long!

 

And all I was doing was posting pics....I guess I should take it as a compliment really....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

"It acts as a stimulant and agitates the kidneys and adrenal glands."

 

All I saw was claims that chocolate was somehow "toxic" to the liver.

 

How does it act like a stimulant to the adrenal glands? There isn't much caffeine at all in raw cocao. MAYBE too much might pose some threat, but through my research I have not seen this.

 

Where is this scientific evidence proving these claims? Through my research choclolate is a true health food and is the highest in antioxidants. The structure of chocolate is the most complex, but the fat enzyme, "lipase', is still present in raw cocoa, so I don't see how it would burden the body to digest the fat. I could, however, see it posing a problem if cooked chocolate were eaten. How is it toxic to the liver? I love your articles, but this one seems to make claims without any science or theory as to why it causes liver toxicity, adrenal problems, etc.

Edited by Cthulhu
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Your story is good and eye opening i will do more research on it on the otherhand i only found this one, the good side to the chocolate story.

 

http://www.envirohealthtech.com/cacao.htm

 

and then i found this http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Misc/Cacao.htm

 

then i found this http://www.heartandsoulhealth.com/chocolate_article.html

 

As with any herb long term use can cause liver toxicity. But i also dont believe too much in propaganda research so you got to watch out for those too and decide for yourself.

 

All i say its too much conflicting information and i cannot find real studies in google.

 

Good information though i just bought my first cacao nibs today bit into one and hated the taste before reading this, but think i will have to chuck it.

 

I'll stick to carob like i always have!

 

Finally an article on the benefits of moderation http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=28331

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, some of the longest living asians on earth ate a diet high in herbs. I really don't believe long term use causes liver toxicity, unless you're eating too much long term. The right kind of herbs can be very potent, as with any medicine, so it's always best to not over do anything. But I've been eating herbs on an almost daily basis for most of my life. Everything in moderation. Good article though.

 

By the way, try putting some kind of natural sweetener on the cocao nibs, it will taste a lot better. It's just more bitter than plain dark chocolate, thats why most people who haven't had much dark chocolate before usually have to get used to the taste. Personally, I love it.

 

Your story is good and eye opening i will do more research on it on the otherhand i only found this one, the good side to the chocolate story.

 

http://www.envirohealthtech.com/cacao.htm

 

and then i found this http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Misc/Cacao.htm

 

then i found this http://www.heartandsoulhealth.com/chocolate_article.html

 

As with any herb long term use can cause liver toxicity. But i also dont believe too much in propaganda research so you got to watch out for those too and decide for yourself.

 

All i say its too much conflicting information and i cannot find real studies in google.

 

Good information though i just bought my first cacao nibs today bit into one and hated the taste before reading this, but think i will have to chuck it.

 

I'll stick to carob like i always have!

 

Finally an article on the benefits of moderation http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=28331

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remember to also figure out what is good for your own body. Try the cacoa nibs (when you have to add a sweetner to something in order to eat it, that would turn me off right there) and see how it affects your body. If you are on a raw diet and have been clean and detoxed yourself, you should see results right away (like headaches, fatigue, and any bloating sensations - edema). Then you know that it isn't healthy for you.

 

It is hard sometimes to figure out what research is correct in their hypothesis about what they may be biased towards. Like maybe the toxicity of the cacao is great for someone who may have an overgrowth yeast problem or a parasite problem, as this may kill them (but keep it short term though).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish some of the other foods like dandelions, lamb's quarter and plantains had such ardent supporters and so many sites that list the benefits of every little thing.

 

They are pretty good with a natural sweetener too, like fruit.

 

Thanks for the information everyone, I personally do not eat any chocolate because I feel like my body reacts to it as though it were a drug, in other words I get a stimulation high and not a nourishment from it, but being raw and hanging with raw people I get a lot of advice about how great it is!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cacao nibs actually taste good to me most days, but I'm quite satisfied after just a few, stop there, and have never noticed any ill effects.

 

At least, I never noticed anything until the raw potluck a few days ago. Some of the forum members can attest to the fact that I got a stimulant "high" from one of the desserts, which contained raw cacao. (It was absolutely delicious, I had two... and it may be a good thing that I wasn't able to get the recipe...)

 

I'll definitely be reading the articles in this thread and any others I can find before I consider consuming any more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I really don't think this is something to worry about. Lots of people eat raw chocolate without any problems. Sprouted kidney beans are said to be poisonous, and so is raw eggplant and I've eaten a fair share of both. Its all politics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Luckily all the raw cocoa I've ever seen has been fair trade and organic...you can't say the same about the regular stuff but it is pretty easy to find fair trade chocolate these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there's a risk in the pursuit of pure. There are a ton of things that in great doses can have negative effects, but I don't think that means that you should automatically ban them from your diet.

 

To me it's a dangerous path to say... This is the best and people doing this other thing are crazy (or nuts, if say you are anti nuts).

 

Everyone's body chemistry is unique, so for one person being Frutopian is ideal, and another its a personal nightmare.

 

For me I've found that being partly raw has had great benefits and works with my life. I don't do coffee, because it doesn't agree with my system (but I do make a mean soy latte for my wife). Things like chocolate I do in grat moderation, same for drinking. I enjoy the balance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...