Is chocolate healthy?

April 3, 2:16 PMLA Raw Food ExaminerMegan McMurray

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Chocolate lovers rejoice, chocolate is actually very healthy for you! The only catch is it must be raw, unheated and unprocessed. Chocolate originally comes in the form of beans which are the seed of a fruit.

In that form it is called by it's ancient name "cacao" used by the Olmec and Mayan Indians. Back then money literally used to grow on trees because cacao beans were used as currency.

With today's scientific techniques we are able chemically analyze cacao to find out what's really in there. Tests show it to be a primary source of magnesium, which more than 80% of America is deficient in. Magnesium is great for a healthy heart, increasing brainpower, building strong bones and soothing menstrual pain. No wonder women crave chocolate around that time of the month. In addition, cacao has the highest antioxidant content of any food, beating out blueberries, green tea and red wine by a mile. It also contains many mood-elevating nutrients like tryptophan which promotes relaxation and encourages better sleep, anandamide the "bliss" chemical and phenylethylamine which mimics the brain's chemistry when in love, it's the reason chocolate is often called an aphrodisiac.

There is a good reason why the Olmec and Mayan’s used to worship a cacao god. You can live like the emperor/empresses of the ancient world and indulge in the most sacred superfood in history …raw chocolate!

Go down to your local Whole Foods or health food store and ask for raw cacao beans and begin to heal your body and mind with raw chocolate! If your local store doesn't carry cacao, click below to buy from the most trusted raw organic food distributor Sunfood.com. The link takes you directly to raw chocolate beans but the site has tons of raw chocolate products like raw chocolate bars, cacao butter and powder so search around the site.

There are lots of ways to eat cacao, if you love dark chocolate then try eating the beans right out of the bag. If you crave a sweeter chocolate experience then dip the beans in honey or agave. You can blend it into smoothies or  crush the bean into tiny pieces and add to trail mix or as a topping on soy ice cream or yogurt.

 Be a kid again and eat as much chocolate as you want and become  healthier for it. Have fun finding your favorite way to eat cacao!