Only 6 Ingredients: Gut-Happy Raw Coconut Chocolate

I Made This Batch Just For You… 

As promised on facebook, to celebrate the gut study claiming that dark chocolate may pack a ‘positive punch for our health’ because of our gut microbes, I whisked up a batch of our favorite homemade raw recipe just to share with you. And I managed to snap a picture just before it all disappeared!

The research bit

The research, conducted at Lousiana State University, points to a synergistic relationship between cocoa and the microbes in your gut:

• The microbes in your gut ferment the fiber and anti-oxidants in the cocoa in dark chocolate, creating small anti-inflammatories that are absorbed back into the bloodstream*
• Anti-inflammatories are linked to numerous health benefits, from cardiovascular  health to an improved state of mind*
• The cocoa may also actually stimulate the production of healthier microbes in your colon*

Add these benefits that cocoa:

• Is high in the micronutrients magnesium, potassium, manganese and copper (more on that soon!)
• Seems to increase insulin sensitivity and improved glucose tolerance (1)

And we think we’ll have another piece.

Why Your Gut Is A Barometer For Your Well-Being

The delicious bit 

To gain maximum benefits from dark chocolate, we like to make it raw by mixing it with other great superfoods (like raw coconut oil) and skipping the sugar and dairy so that it’s food-intolerance friendly.

The 6 Ingredients: 

1. Raw Cacoa
2. Coconut Oil
3. Brown Rice Syrup
4. Vanilla Extract
5. Sea Salt
6. Unsweetened Coconut

Directions: Mix, Taste, Mix Again, Taste Again, Mix, Taste, Taste – until the consistency is just the way you like it. You can freeze to harden it into ‘pieces’ or eat in raw form. Then, taste again.

You, and your gut, are welcome. 

Read more about why prioritizing your gut is key to balancing your state of mind:

• Gut-Brain: Why Your Gut Is Your Second Brain 
• Is A Gut-Brain Disconnect Behind Your Overeating?
• Gut-Brain: Why Balancing Your Gut Is Balancing Your Mind

Blood pressure is reduced and insulin sensitivity increased in glucose-intolerant, hypertensive subjects after 15 days of consuming high-polyphenol dark chocolate. – J Nutr. 2008 Sep;138(9):1671-6.

*The statements on this site have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.