A history of sugar – the food nobody needs, but everyone craves

Health Benefits of Natural Cocoa Powder

Cocoa powder is a popular ingredient used in many recipes, including desserts and drinks. But did you know that it also has many health benefits? In this article, we’ll explore some of the health benefits of natural cocoa powder.

Stabilizes blood pressure: Cocoa powder has an inexplicable quality to stabilize blood pressure. The sufficiently high levels of flavonoids in cocoa powder help in maintaining healthy blood pressure levels.

Supports brain health: Research suggests that adding more cocoa powder to your diet helps to improve your attention, working memory, and general cognition. It may also restore cognitive performance in people with sleep loss.

A good source of antioxidants: Cocoa powder is rich in antioxidants that help protect your cells from damage caused by free radicals.

Maintains cholesterol level: Cocoa powder contains flavonoids that help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Treats diabetes: Cocoa powder has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in people with diabetes.

Cure bronchial asthma: Theobromine present in cocoa powder helps in relaxing bronchial spasms and thus helps in curing bronchial asthma.

Contains healing power: Cocoa powder contains compounds that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and may help reduce inflammation throughout the body.

Reduces obesity: Cocoa powder contains compounds that have been shown to help reduce inflammation and may help reduce the risk of obesity.

Strengthens cardiovascular health: The flavonoids present in cocoa powder have been shown to help improve cardiovascular health by reducing inflammation and improving blood flow.

A mood buster: Cocoa powder contains compounds that have been shown to help improve mood and reduce symptoms of depression.

Helps treat constipation: Cocoa powder contains fiber that helps regulate bowel movements and prevent constipation.

Prevents cancer: The flavonoids present in cocoa powder have been shown to have anti-cancer properties and may help reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

Supports skin health: The antioxidants present in cocoa powder may help protect your skin from damage caused by free radicals and may help reduce the signs of aging.

In conclusion, natural cocoa powder is a delicious and healthy ingredient that can be used in many recipes. It has many health benefits, including stabilizing blood pressure, supporting brain health, being a good source of antioxidants, maintaining cholesterol level, treating diabetes, curing bronchial asthma, containing healing power, reducing obesity, strengthening cardiovascular health, being a mood buster, helping treat constipation, preventing cancer, and supporting skin health.

Stepping back - See the History of Sugars

Human physiology evolved on a diet containing very little sugar and virtually no refined carbohydrate. In fact, sugar probably entered into our diets by accident. It is likely that sugarcane was primarily a “fodder” crop, used to fatten pigs, though humans may have chewed on the stalks from time to time.

Evidence from plant remnants and DNA suggests that sugarcane evolved in South East Asia. Researchers are currently hunting for early evidence of sugarcane cultivation at the Kuk Swamp in Papua New Guinea, where the domestication of related crops such as taro and banana dates back to approximately 8,000BC. The crop spread around the Eastern Pacific and Indian Oceans around 3,500 years ago, carried by Austronesian and Polynesian seafarers.

The first chemically refined sugar appeared on the scene in India about 2,500 years ago. From there, the technique spread east towards China, and west towards Persia and the early Islamic worlds, eventually reaching the Mediterranean in the 13th century. Cyprus and Sicily became important centres for sugar production. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was considered a rare and expensive spice, rather than an everyday condiment.

The first place to cultivate sugarcane explicitly for large-scale refinement and trade was the Atlantic island of Madeira, during the late 15th century. Then, it was the Portuguese who realised that new and favourable conditions for sugar plantations existed in Brazil, where a slave-based plantation economy was established. When Brazilian sugarcane was introduced in the Caribbean, shortly before 1647, it led to the growth of the industry which came to feed the sugar craze of Western Europe.

Slave Trade

This food – which nobody needed, but everyone craved – drove the formation of the modern of the world. There was a huge demand for labour to cultivate the massive sugar plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean. This need was met by a transatlantic slave trade, which resulted in around 12,570,000 human beings being shipped from Africa to the Americas between 1501 and 1867.

Mortality rates could reach as high as up to 25% on each voyage, and between 1m and 2m dead must have been thrown overboard.

And of course, goods such as copper and brass, rum, cloth, tobacco and guns were needed to purchase slaves from the African elites. These were secured through the expansion of industrial production, particularly in the English Midlands and South West. Modern-day banking and insurance can trace its origins to the 18th century Atlantic economy.

Meanwhile, the slaves working the plantations suffered miserable lives. When they were finally emancipated in 1834 in the British Empire, it was the slave owners who were fully compensated – not the slaves. Much of this money was used to build Victorian infrastructure, such as railways and factories.

Modern day scourges (2)

In many ways, the story of sugar and tobacco are closely aligned. Both products were initially produced through slave labour, and were originally seen to be beneficial to health. And although both sugar and tobacco have ancient origins, it was their sudden, mass consumption from the mid-17th century onwards that created the health risks we associate with them today. - Read On -

Mark Horton, Professor in Archaeology, University of Bristol; Alexander Bentley, Professor and Chair of Comparative Cultural Studies,University of Houston, and Philip Langton, Senior Teaching Fellow in Physiology, University of Bristol

This article was originally published on The Conversation. / 03.11.2015