Cacao - A Better Buzz than Coffee! | Sacred Earth Community

Have you ever had those awful coffee jitters? Or been plunged into anxiety after that extra sneaky cup? Or lay awake on the edge of sleep after a coffee too late in the day? You’d be the rare exception if you haven’t!

Have you ever set a New Years resolution to quit coffee once and for all, but only made it a few weeks in? Ever wondered how you can break up with coffee for good?

In our journal, we’ll explore the health impacts of coffee and why we believe Ceremonial Cacao is better than coffee and is the perfect, healthier coffee alternative.

The Coffee Craze

For many, coffee has been the go-to morning beverage to kick start the day, for as long as we can remember.

In Australia, coffee steadily rose in popularity after WW2 with the influx of American servicemen used to daily caffeine consumption, and then boomed even more with the arrival of European immigrants from Greece and Italy in the 1950’s who brought their love of coffee (and their superior expresso machines!) with them. (1)

Statistics show that nearly 90% of Aussies say that they like coffee and a quarter stating that they cannot get through the day without a cup. (2)

Although coffee has gained much status, daily and excessive coffee consumption can have a negative impact on overall health and wellbeing. Enter Cacao!

The Benefits of Cacao

As one of the most nutrient dense plants on Earth, cacao is literally bursting with goodness, being particularly rich in minerals, vitamins, protein, good fats, enzymes, antioxidants plus essential fatty and amino acids!

It's one of the few foods in the world that helps our brain to produce more feel-good chemicals. Releasing therapeutic levels of brain chemicals, it can positively affect our mood, memory, perception of pain and feelings of well-being and revitalisation.

Cacao offers us an uplifting and stimulating experience similar to coffee. However, unlike coffee, which contains much higher caffeine levels that impact our central nervous system, making us feel jittery or anxious; the invigorating effect of cacao comes from the alkaloid theobromine. Theobromine offers a calmer and more grounded effect as it doesn’t stimulate the central nervous system like caffeine – and it lasts longer too!

Other benefits of theobromine are its stimulation of the cardiovascular system, dilation of blood vessels, lowering of blood pressure, and increased nutrient uptake during digestion.

The Cons of Coffee

There is ample research available indicating the potential benefits of caffeine in small doses. But let’s not ignore the studies showing the undesirable health impacts of drinking too much coffee. We all metabolise caffeine differently, hence our threshold for daily intake can be quite different, so it’s important to be aware of the negative effects that caffeine consumption can have on our health.

Drinking excessive amounts of coffee can lead to nutrient depletion, particularly of the important minerals; calcium, iron and magnesium. Let’s look deeper-

Calcium: According to Columbia University Health Services, “The caffeine in coffee contributes to calcium excretion, which could lead to osteoporosis later in life. Specifically, caffeine is a diuretic, meaning that it causes increased urination. This increased fluid loss results in increased calcium loss, too, as calcium is excreted in urine. For every 150 milligrams of caffeine consumed, about 5 milligrams of calcium are lost. While this might not sound like much, over many years this can add up to significant bone thinning.” (3)

Iron: The Colorado State University Extension notes, “Coffee also negatively affects your body's absorption of iron. If you consume coffee along with an iron-containing meal, your body's absorption of the iron will be reduced by as much as 50 percent. This can be especially detrimental to women of child-bearing age, whose iron needs are greater than many other groups due to the blood loss of menstruation. The elderly are another group at risk for low iron and for whom coffee consumption could therefore prove problematic. (3)

Magnesium: Studies show that “Coffee affects magnesium in two ways. It gradually stops your intestine from absorbing magnesium leading to a low absorption rate. And coffee can make you lose magnesium by urination due to its diuretic properties. Though coffee does not directly affect the already absorbed magnesium, it does hinder new absorption. Since coffee is an irritant to your digestive tract, it can irritate your intestines (which is where magnesium is absorbed) and may stop them from digesting magnesium”. (4) This is particularly significant since magnesium levels in soils are deteriorating, and magnesium levels in food are perilously low.

It's important to note, not only that ceremonial cacao won’t deplete hard to get, essential minerals like coffee, but is in fact an incredibly rich source of magnesium, calcium and iron (having the highest plant source of iron on the planet with up to 11mg iron per 100mg cacao!).

Other Adverse Impacts of Too Much Coffee

Anxiety Inducing: Caffeine not only inhibits the chemical adenosine (whose role it is to make us tired at the end of the day) but it’s ingestion also generates the release of adrenaline, activating the ‘fight/flight’ response of the nervous system. Too much caffeine can increase heart rate and feelings of shakiness and apprehension. (5)

Increased Insomnia: Though coffee is often used to foster alertness and staying awake, too much (particularly later in the day) can lead to sleep issues, lack of deep restorative sleep and insomnia in the more excessive cases. (6)

It can also impact blood pressure, cause dehydration and headaches, increase heart rate and play a role in some digestive disorders. (7)

Switching over - why choose Ceremonial Cacao over Coffee?

Ross Despres (a busy General Manager, aged 47), and regular coffee drinker for many years turned ceremonial cacao convert shared his story with us:

“Finding myself needing my morning coffee to get going, and not wanting to be addicted to any product, I chose to omit coffee from my diet for one month during a cleanse.

At the end of the cleanse, I felt much clearer and decided not to bring coffee back into my daily life, instead changing over to ceremonial cacao. I wanted a healthier alternative and didn’t want to be dependent on coffee.

Since the switch, I’ve found my energy is more even, and the cacao ‘hit’ lasts longer than coffee and feels more grounded in my being.”

We hear so many stories like this, we felt it was time to share the impact our cacao is having on the lives of busy people like yourself and how they are consciously breaking up with coffee.

Honestly there are so many reasons we believe ceremonial cacao is the healthier choice, here’s some for you to consider:

It offers stimulation whilst having a calmer effect on the nervous system
It provides sustainable energy that doesn’t drastically impact the sleep cycle
It doesn’t deplete nutrients and is actually packed with goodness
It helps you get into ‘the flow state’ and fosters creativity
With a boost in cognitive function it increases focus and concentration
With its heart opening properties, cacao boosts your mood and cultivates connection

The science says it all, but we’d really love to hear from you!

Have you ever tried swapping coffee for ceremonial cacao? If so, what’s your experience?

Let us know in the comments below…