Jim Swayze wrote:
>> steve wrote:
>>
>>> Humans first entered Europe about 45,000 years ago which might make
>>> European native foods non-paleo as well. In fact, everything
>>> outside of Africa becomes non-paleo since immigration out of Africa
>>> may have started no later than 50,000 years ago.
>
>
> Again, my definition of paleo is that a particular food has to be of a
> similar *type* as what we consumed for the overwhelming majority of
> our time here on earth. That'd be just about any kind of animal and
> many bugs, lots of fruits and true vegetables, the occasional honey
> cache. An American bison is just as paleo then as a native European
> wild bovine or as an African musk ox or as an Arctic seal. But what
> counterpart does cocao have? It's a drug new on the scene.
The comments below were taken from wikipedia.org. It appears to me that
regular consumption of cocoa has generous health benefits, not health
risks. Having had a heart attack, I find the cardiovascular benefits
particularly important and the list from wikipedia is still missing
important recent studies. As you may have noted, I'm a pragmatic paleo
eater who looks for the best of paleo eating combined with modern
science and desirable supplements, supplements which might be drugs
depending on the country one lives in. As I've mentioned before, I
consume free trade organic raw cocoa which has not been dutch
processed. I get about 15 grams a day that way in addition to some
standardized extracts in products from the Life Extension Foundation.
The cocoa plant is in the *Sterculiaceae Family which includes the cola
tree (cola nut, kola, bissy nut) found in Africa with many uses.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterculiaceae)
*
<pasted>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa
The cacao plant was first given its botanical name by Swedish natural
scientist Carolus Linnaeus
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolus_Linnaeus> in his original
classification of the plant kingdom, who called it /Theobroma/ ("food of
the gods") /cacao/.
Health benefits of cocoa consumption
Chocolate and cocoa contain a high level of flavonoids
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavonoid>, specifically epicatechin
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catechin>, which may have beneficial
cardiovascular <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulatory_system> effects
on health.^[5] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-4> ^[6]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-5> ^[7]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-6> The ingestion of
flavonol-rich cocoa is associated with acute elevation of circulating
nitric oxide <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_oxide>, enhanced
flow-mediated vasodilation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasodilator>,
and augmented microcirculation
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcirculation>.^[8]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-7>
Prolonged intake of flavonol-rich cocoa has been linked to
cardiovascular health benefits,^[9]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-8> ^[10]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-9> ^[11]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-10> though it should be
noted that this refers to plain cocoa and dark chocolate. Milk
chocolate's addition of whole milk reduces the overall cocoa content per
ounce while increasing saturated fat levels, possibly negating some of
cocoa's heart-healthy potential benefits. Nevertheless, studies have
still found short term benefits in LDL cholesterol
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_density_lipoprotein> levels from dark
chocolate consumption.^[12]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-11>
Hollenberg and colleagues of Harvard Medical School studied the effects
of cocoa and flavanols on Panama's Kuna Indian population, who are heavy
consumers of cocoa. The researchers found that the Kuna Indians living
on the islands had significantly lower rates of heart disease and cancer
compared to those on the mainland who do not drink cocoa as on the
islands. It is believed that the improved blood flow after consumption
of flavanol-rich cocoa may help to achieve health benefits in hearts and
other organs. In particular, the benefits may extend to the brain and
have important implications for learning and memory.^[13]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-12> ^[14]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-13>
Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking green
and black tea may not, according to an analysis of previously published
research in the April 9, 2007 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine,
one of the JAMA/Archives journals.^[15]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#cite_note-14>
^Steve
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