Cocoa powder for gut health

[Hans]

I've posted a few studies before that cocoa powder can help to reduce gut inflammation and positively modulate the gut bacteria. Here is another one:

Cocoa diet modulates gut microbiota composition and improves intestinal health in Zucker diabetic rats - PubMed

Cocoa supplementation improves glucose metabolism in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats via multiple mechanisms. Furthermore, cocoa rich-diets modify the intestinal microbiota composition both in humans and rats in healthy conditions. Accordingly, we hypothesized that cocoa could interact with the...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"We found that cocoa supplementation up-regulated the levels of the tight junction protein Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and the mucin glycoprotein and reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) in the colon of ZDF diabetic animals. Additionally, cocoa modulated the microbial composition of the ZDF rats to values similar to those of the lean group. Importantly, cocoa treatment increased the relative abundance of acetate-producing bacteria such as Blautia and prevented the increase in the relative amount of lactate-producing bacteria (mainly Enterococcus and Lactobacillus genera) in ZDF diabetic animals. Accordingly, the total levels of SCFA (mainly acetate) increased significantly in the faeces of ZDF-Co diabetic rats. Finally, modified GM was closely associated with improved biochemical parameters related to glucose homeostasis and intestinal integrity and inflammation. These findings demonstrate for the first time that cocoa intake modifies intestinal bacteria composition towards a healthier microbial profile in diabetic animals and suggest that these changes could be associated with the improved glucose homeostasis and gut health induced by cocoa in ZDF diabetic rats."

Cocoa powder always has a mild but positive effect on my gut health. How about you?

 

[Kykeon]

I never tested this in isolation, but i have found out that cacao has different levels of Cadmium depending on the Region. Cacao from Africa seems the best.
It is funny that the more "edel"(noble) Kakao in Germany seems to have the highest levels of Cadmium, due to plants growing on "vulcanic soil". Probably no issue if the consumption is not very high or the other minerals are adequate.
The cheaper cacoa i can get has Sodium Hydroxide, is that worrysome? If i dont drink coffee i really crave cacoa.
Maybe it is due to the cacao acting as a pseudo-charcoal?

There was a study that found that you can not uptake most of the carcinogens from burnt meat as the burnt meat acts similiar to an activated charcoal supplement, but i never really checked the quality of the study.

​

 

[Perry Staltic]

cocoa treatment increased the relative abundance of acetate-producing bacteria

FWIW apparently bfidobacteria are acetate producers. I'm currently experimenting with about 1/2 dozen of them and a few L-lactate producers. Plus I do cacao every day, so this is good news

Acetate-producing bifidobacteria protect the host from enteropathogenic infection via carbohydrate transporters - PubMed

The human gut harbors a large and diverse community of commensal bacteria. Among them, Bifidobacterium is known to exhibit various probiotic effects including protection of hosts from infectious diseases. We recently discovered that genes encoding an ATP-binding-cassette-type carbohydrate...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[ReSTART]

Cocoa is awesome

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

There was a study that found that you can not uptake most of the carcinogens from burnt meat as the burnt meat acts similiar to an activated charcoal supplement, but i never really checked the quality of the study.

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Interesting! When my stomach acid was lower, I would get bad breath from raw meat, and meat which had that nice char on the outside made my breath smell fresh.

I want to experiment with cocoa powder to see how it affects me now. The last time I ate chocolate was probably 6 years ago. As long as it didn't contain milk, it made me feel good, but it gave me some gut discomfort, because my gut was a real mess back then, which is why I stopped consuming it.

 

[Hans]

I never tested this in isolation, but i have found out that cacao has different levels of Cadmium depending on the Region. Cacao from Africa seems the best.
It is funny that the more "edel"(noble) Kakao in Germany seems to have the highest levels of Cadmium, due to plants growing on "vulcanic soil". Probably no issue if the consumption is not very high or the other minerals are adequate.
The cheaper cacoa i can get has Sodium Hydroxide, is that worrysome? If i dont drink coffee i really crave cacoa.
Maybe it is due to the cacao acting as a pseudo-charcoal?

There was a study that found that you can not uptake most of the carcinogens from burnt meat as the burnt meat acts similiar to an activated charcoal supplement, but i never really checked the quality of the study.

​

Cool man.
I'm in (South) Africa, so I most likely get the good stuff.
Sodium hydroxide does not produce systemic toxicity, but is very corrosive and can cause severe burns in all tissues that it comes in contact with. But that's obviously concentration-dependent. Not sure how big of an issue the small amount is found in cocoa.
Cocoa does most like help with toxin excretion, but no where close to the extent of charcoal.

 

[Hans]

FWIW apparently bfidobacteria are acetate producers. I'm currently experimenting with about 1/2 dozen of them and a few L-lactate producers. Plus I do cacao every day, so this is good news

Acetate-producing bifidobacteria protect the host from enteropathogenic infection via carbohydrate transporters - PubMed

The human gut harbors a large and diverse community of commensal bacteria. Among them, Bifidobacterium is known to exhibit various probiotic effects including protection of hosts from infectious diseases. We recently discovered that genes encoding an ATP-binding-cassette-type carbohydrate...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Getting good results with that protocol so far?

 

[Hans]

Cocoa is awesome

 

[Kykeon]

i found this interesting. Why do Pigs seem to have a Problem with it, but humans do not. I would love to hear rays view on this. I can imagine he suddenly talks about something i have not even considered, like in that era the cacao was of very bad quality. i never am amazed with this mans insights. Maybe only some liver magic that is happening.
Effects of Cocoa Husk Feeding on the Composition of Swine Intestinal Microbiota - PubMed seems also to improve the microbiome in pigs, but i havent even understood why the beneficial bacteria are beneficial. so far peat says they are more "benign". Just trying to get a bigger picture here

 

[Hans]

i found this interesting. Why do Pigs seem to have a Problem with it, but humans do not. I would love to hear rays view on this. I can imagine he suddenly talks about something i have not even considered, like in that era the cacao was of very bad quality. i never am amazed with this mans insights. Maybe only some liver magic that is happening.
Effects of Cocoa Husk Feeding on the Composition of Swine Intestinal Microbiota - PubMed seems also to improve the microbiome in pigs, but i havent even understood why the beneficial bacteria are beneficial. so far peat says they are more "benign". Just trying to get a bigger picture here

The book states that caffeine and theobromine are poisonous, which is not true at all. Those amounts are also very low in cocoa. Perhaps it's harmful to certain animals in certain doses.
Plus, he's talking about 7.5-10% of total feed, which is certainly a very big amount. 1 tbsp of cocoa is about 10g, which is less than 1% of total food intake for most people. I'm sure it can cause issues in large amounts as it can contain a fair amount of oxalates, phytic acid, heavy metals, mold, endotoxin, etc.

In terms of the microbiome, I'm also not sold on what's supposed to be good, but if it does lower inflammation and cortisol and increases dopamine, it's not all that bad. All food has some sort of effect on the gut.

 

[Perry Staltic]

Getting good results with that protocol so far?

Too early to tell. Other factors in play that I have to sort out. Not experiencing bad results, though.

 

[Hans]

Too early to tell. Other factors in play that I have to sort out. Not experiencing bad results, though.

Cool, keep us posted if anything good happens. :)

 

[Inaut]

Sadly I’ve had to give up chocolate recently as it causes severe histamine reactions... Real bummer

 

[Hans]

Sadly I’ve had to give up chocolate recently as it causes severe histamine reactions... Real bummer

That sucks. Is it the same for cocoa powder and cocoa butter or only chocolate?

 

[Inaut]

Not cocoa butter so much as it is cocoa and chocolate.... Sucks big time

 

[Kykeon]

@Hans ok i can say that cacao now helped my digestion, or atleast did not damage it. i can elaborate if you want. My colon is really sensitive (bursted appendix at age 15 (now 30 years old), health problems really manifested afterwards (skin problems, acne, low energy levels, brainfog, could not really digest anything, very skinny underweight), i probably got a candida dysbiosis (hadcandida strings in all my stools) back then until 2 years ago when i found out and attacked the infection for the firs time (pao d arco tea with mct oil on a fasted stomach, and i had "normal" stools again.


Now a week ago i ate alot of dry fruits, giving me a really upset colon/stomach (liquid shits / fodmap related) and i felt like ***t. 3 days ago i ate some charcoal and yesterday i had beef cooked together with mushrooms as a soup with alot of salt in it, also took a good heap of cacao together with milk and my digestion is very good now (either i have runny stools, or constipation)

I am going to eat more cocoa and see how it will impact me.
/Guinea pig report over

 

[Hans]

@Hans ok i can say that cacao now helped my digestion, or atleast did not damage it. i can elaborate if you want. My colon is really sensitive (bursted appendix at age 15 (now 30 years old), health problems really manifested afterwards (skin problems, acne, low energy levels, brainfog, could not really digest anything, very skinny underweight), i probably got a candida dysbiosis (hadcandida strings in all my stools) back then until 2 years ago when i found out and attacked the infection for the firs time (pao d arco tea with mct oil on a fasted stomach, and i had "normal" stools again.


Now a week ago i ate alot of dry fruits, giving me a really upset colon/stomach (liquid shits / fodmap related) and i felt like ***t. 3 days ago i ate some charcoal and yesterday i had beef cooked together with mushrooms as a soup with alot of salt in it, also took a good heap of cacao together with milk and my digestion is very good now (either i have runny stools, or constipation)

I am going to eat more cocoa and see how it will impact me.
/Guinea pig report over

Good stuff man, keep us posted.
Interesting with the pau d' arco tea with MCT. How often did you do it and how much MCT did you use per cup?

 

[Kykeon]

Good stuff man, keep us posted.
Interesting with the pau d' arco tea with MCT. How often did you do it and how much MCT did you use per cup?

my container was a jumbo cup (~500ml) , had maybe 80-120 ml of mct oil, also sprinkled some cinnamon in it. Stevia for sweetness because sugar was toxic back then...
I really would love to know how much impact the mct oil had, because it is absorbed quickly isnt it.

 

[TheBeard]

@Hans Are you sure you mean "Cocoa" and not "Cacao"?

Cacao being less processed, I would assume it's healthier.

 

[Hans]

my container was a jumbo cup (~500ml) , had maybe 80-120 ml of mct oil, also sprinkled some cinnamon in it. Stevia for sweetness because sugar was toxic back then...
I really would love to know how much impact the mct oil had, because it is absorbed quickly isnt it.

Honey would have been good as it's also anti-bacterial.
If a relatively big bolus of MCT is ingested, some of it will not be absorbed and travel down to the colon. Too much can cause disaster pants.