Thursday, April 14, 2011
Cocoa for health
Bitter cocoa benefits blood. In TCM, we associate bitterness with the liver. The liver stores blood. When we go to bed between 11-1AM, the blood returns to the liver to get "freshened", in preparation for another new day. A lot of Chinese herbs that benefit and/or "quicken" blood are bitter in nature. One herb, Gou Teng (Uncaria rhynchophylla), has a bit of epicatechins. This herb has the ability to stop tremors, lower blood pressure, and surprise surprise it can treat migraine--a friend of mine eats dark chocolate to deal with her migraine headache.
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That's interesting, because in clinic they tell me I have heat in my blood as well as blood deficiency and I get quite addicted to cocoa at various times. I always thought it was just the caffeine, and thought of my chocolate cravings as a negative thing, but I wonder if my blood is secretly craving cocoa for its blood benefiting properties? Do you know what kind of blood conditions it's good for (blood xu, stagnation, heat or cold?) This post inspires me to want to research more about cocoa. Thank you.
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