Chocolate, a natural stress reliever?

As you know, we launched our CBD and raw cocoa truffles with the help of the exceptional chocolatier Carrés Sauvages. And it's no coincidence that we made this recipe from CBD of course, but also chocolate! Cocoa has many virtues for body and soul - we get the point right here.

Fruit of the cocoa tree (a 10-meter tree located in the equatorial forests, South America, Africa and Asia), cocoa is far from resembling its processed version that we like to call "sinful" - the chocolate. The fruits of this tree (which grow on its trunk) are the pods: an oval shape like a small rugby ball. Inside, white pulp and seeds: cocoa beans. When the Aztecs discovered them (long after animals) in the year 1300, they first used them as currency! They then transform them into a hot drink (very bitter, without sugar or milk at the time), then try to add spices in search of taste. In 1528, Hernan Cortès, a Spaniard known to have conquered Mexico under Charles V, brought the beans back to his native country to the delight of the Royal Court - which no longer swears by this luxury drink! And it was in 1615 that cocoa made its appearance in France thanks to the marriage of two Spanish queens with French kings: Louis XIII and Louis XIV.

It was not until 1835 that a Dutchman had the idea of ​​consuming cocoa in another form. By grinding the beans with a machine, he obtains powder, and by pressing the dough, cocoa butter. It is thanks to him that the texture was able to become more fluid, and that we were able to start mixing it with sugar. And milk. And almonds. And fleur de sel. Nuts. Caramel. Cherry liqueur (whatever, we could have stopped before).

Nowadays, pods still grow on cocoa trees in South America, Africa or India mainly. As you will have understood, if you are more into "short circuits", chocolate or at least its main ingredient is not so local, hence the many restaurants and hotel groups far from the producing continents which choose to ban the chocolate, for the sake of responsibility. Tough, but consistent.

The harvest takes place twice a year by hand, to pass to podding, the meticulous extraction step (a bit like CBD in hemp, as our hemp expert explains very well here). The beans ferment for a few days then dry in the sun before being processed. And most often exported all over the world.

Upon receipt of the beans, some factories choose whether or not to roast the cocoa (roast the seeds). Carrés Sauvages, for example, with whom we imagined our CBD truffles, does not roast its seeds to "preserve their original taste and nutritional benefits". Then comes crushing to separate the shell from the bean, grinding to obtain a smooth texture to which sugar and cocoa butter are added, then conching (the mixture of ingredients), tempering to stabilize the material and molding. .

At HO KARAN, we only work with ethical producers based in France (discover our transparency pages to follow the path of all our products). To make our CBD truffles, we looked for a chocolatier who shared our “most responsible” policy. Laure, the founder of the Wild Squares artisanal manufactures its chocolate from the cocoa bean, at low temperature (less than 42 degrees) and without refined sugar. As with HO KARAN, its ingredients come from organic farming and fair trade. And of course, the chocolate is made in France. Inevitable conditions to guarantee exceptional truffles, as delicious as they are rich in benefits!

According to several scientific studies *, chocolate helps reduce stress. We explain ourselves.

First, we are talking about a dark chocolate, that is to say as pure as possible (and no, your Kinder advent calendar will not really make you decompress - that said, the XNUMX-year-old author of this article assumes experience a lot of pleasure by opening your little box every morning). If chocolate is interesting from a nutritional point of view, it is for its rich in magnesium, a key mineral for the body in particular to fight against fatigue, help the normal functioning of the nervous system, boost memory or concentration. What is the link between magnesium and stress? During stress, the body produces cortisol (the stress hormone), which scares away magnesium. The problem: a lack of magnesium makes us even more vulnerable to stress *. A vicious circle - and very often a gap to be filled.

On average, dark chocolate has 112 mg per 100 g (and 60 mg for milk chocolate). So no, we do not recommend that you put on two tablets a day to stay zen, but rather to balance your nutritional intake. Magnesium is found in many other unprocessed foods: algae, seeds (squash, chia, sunflower, flax), oilseeds (brazil nuts, almonds, hazelnuts ...), whole grains, quinoa, vegetables green ...

Considered a pleasure food, chocolate boosts the production of endorphins* - the pleasure hormone. Assimilated to a moment of happiness, in the brain, it is the same effect as a workout (each to their own), a giggle or a good massage (as at No Stress Studio).

Fun fact: chocolate also contains anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitter that interacts with certain receptors in the central and peripheral nervous system (learn all about the endocannabinoid system here). Very simply: the action of this molecule regulates the cardiovascular system and generates a feeling of happiness.

For all these reasons, according to Laure, the founder of Carrés Sauvages, who has become an expert in the field, confirms that chocolate is a real natural stress reliever, but not only: “There is also a psychological part in its anti-stress role: in general, it is linked in our memory to happy moments”.

How did we formulate our CBD truffles to be both delicious and ultra soothing? “They are composed of raw cocoa beans bursting with antioxidants, low glycemic index coconut blossom sugar which provides minerals, white almond puree which provides good proteins and magnesium, hemp oil which is one of the richest oils in omega 3 (it also contains vitamins A, E, B1, B2 and B6), collagen for the radiance of the skin and CBD which relaxes the body. In short, each bite melts in the mouth to bring its share of tenderness and nutrients. ” And by far, the best gift to give to loved ones for the holidays.

References :

* Scientist Sunil Kochhar and his colleagues from the American chemical society (ACS)
*"The Metabolic Effects of Dark Chocolate Consumption on Energy, Stomach Microflora, and Stress-Related Metabolism"

* _Cuciureanu, Magdalena D., and Robert Vink. 2011. “Magnesium and Stress”. In Magnesium in the Central Nervous System, edited by Robert Vink and Mihai Nechifor. Adelaide (AU): University of Adelaide Press.

http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/indepth.food/sweets/chocolate.cravings/