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Cacao dosage

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Hi guys. I have some cacao nibs and heard even though they're a stimulant they help improve your deep sleep patterns due to the theobromine later on. Just wondering if anyone know what a good dosage is per day of this to help? 

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I have read (online?) that many chocolate products (including cacao nibs) contain elevated levels of cadmium. 

 

I don't know whether it's that cadmium contamination, or some intrinsic property of Theobroma itself, that makes it "beneficial to health in small amounts and detrimental in large amounts...." (Herbs and Natural Supplements: An Evidence-Based Approach, 2015). This same source declares chocolate products to be "extremely safe" although allergies, adverse interactions etc. have been documented. This textbook lists numerous potential clinical benefits of Theobroma -- but it doesn't mention any sleep studies.

 

The science is far from conclusive, but "trials suggest that effective doses are approximately 40–100 g dark chocolate or 15–30 g cocoa powder, providing approximately 200–500 mg polyphenols."  That's quite a lot of chocolate; I'm not sure how many cacao nibs. But it is perhaps worth noting that cacao is traditionally consumed in heroic quantities, for ceremonial purposes. 

 

How long is a piece of string? 

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  • ... stimulating herbs such as Paullinia cupana, Camelia sinensis (Green tea), Coffea arabica/canephora (Coffee), high-grade Theobroma cacao (Cacao) and Ilex paraguariensis could work against the sedative effects of Valeriana officinalis or Humulus lupulus.

 

Clinical Naturopathy: An Evidence-Based Guide to Practice  (2019). No further mention of cacao. 

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I eat a shitload of it in my muesli, or along with coconut chocolate desert. 6-8 tablespoons per day when I have it in muesli, but I have a massive muesli bowl. Just get it in your diet as best you can by mixing it in where you can get away with the taste. $22/kg is roughly what I pay from the wholefoods place I go to that sells heaps of dried grains and seeds etc. The way supermarkets sell things there's way too much plastic involved for the amount I eat.

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Cacao goes well with so many wonderful herbal edibles, it seems to have synergistic effects. 

 

I've never experienced any ill effects from cacao. Unlike coffee. 

 

Cadmium contamination isn't specific to chocolate products -- apparently it's even worse in grains and cereals. But it's something to be aware of, even in "organic" cacao. The cadmium levels vary by soil condition where the cacao is grown -- higher in Central America than in Africa (or is it the other way around?). There was some legal action a few years back concerning heavy metals in chocolate products, but I don't think it was successful. 

 

 

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major spam fail

  • Haha 4

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