Matt Amsden is considered by those in the know to be one of the premier raw food chefs in southern California (and globally). Amsden owns RAWvolution a company that delivers gourmet raw food meals throughout the United States. He is also the author of RAWvolution, a raw foods cookbook which has been called by critics as an “indispensable, all-inclusive guide to the many powerful benefits of raw food.”

Author David Wolfe has written the bestselling books Eating for Beauty, The Sunfood Diet Success System and Naked Chocolate. Wolfe co-founded and is “the leading voice on the continuously evolving online magazine www.thebestdayever.com where subscribers are motivated and brought up to speed on all the leading insights and strategies available in many fields including health, success, beauty, fitness, maximum joy, sensuality, wealth generation and peak performance.”

Copyright 2008 Organic Eating Daily

Cacao is responsible for that far too delicious food group we know as chocolate, but in reality, it’s a lot more. In fact, in its purest form, it has health benefits that most people truly have no idea about whatsoever. So what exactly is cacao?

What Is Cacao?

Cacao is an evergreen tree that generally grows from 10 – 30 feet in height and is native to the tropical regions of the American continents. It is found naturally in the Amazon River Basin as well as the Orinoco River Basin, and can also be found bearing its “fruit” at the base of the Andes Mountain range in foothill elevations of 600 – 1300 ft. above sea level. It is widely accepted by many cacao experts that the tree was native to Mexico, and brought wild to be cultivated in South America.

It is now farmed in many tropical nations. The largest commercial producer is the western African nation of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Ghana, Indonesia and the Philippines also cultivate a prominent amount of cacao, and the Americas round out the majority of the commercial farming.

The fruit of the cacao, known as the cacao pod, ripens to a hearty orange or yellow color, and weighs close to a pound. Within these pods, there is a load of seeds, which are generally referred to as cacao beans. Each seed is made up of about 40 percent fat, which is typically extracted and called cocoa butter.

The Cacao Nib Craze

Is it true that Cacao Nibs, the peeled, crushed cacao seeds/beans, are full of antioxidants? Antioxidants that rival super foods like blueberries, and many antioxidant-rich teas? Yes, it’s all true. As a matter of fact, the cacao nib is also rich in good fat and minerals such as calcium, zinc, iron and potassium. All that positive energy you’d get from drinking something like a Gatorade without the multiple grams of refined sugar.

You’ll also find a natural byproduct that is very much like caffeine. It has also been found that the natural MAO inhibitors found in these tasty morsels can suppress an overactive appetite.

The Taste of Cacao

What do cacao nibs taste like? Chocolately and nutty. You can pick at it like granola, eat it by the spoonful like cereal or even grind it into your coffee. It can be sprinkled on ice-cream, or added to a smoothie.

If you’re intrigued, make sure you snag an organic variety of the cacao nibs. Criollo cacao is the rarest of the organically produced cacao, and what you’d probably enjoy the most in your first sampling. You can generally find the goods for $10-15 a pound, depending on where you shop. Cacao: Just another example of nature’s candies.












Copyright 2008 Organic Eating Daily

How Digestion Breaks Down Nuts in Stages

Roughly a three-stage process, digestion begins in the mouth, when as you are chewing, enzymes in the saliva begin to break down the starch in foods. Later, enzymes in the stomach begin to release or unfasten the bonds (chemical in nature) that hold the proteins in food together. Still more enzymes in the intestines, together with bile, continue to break down foods (and nuts), working on the protein, starches and fats.

Not all materials can be broken down by the body, however, and high on the list is fiber, which is not digestible. Fiber makes its way through the intestines, only partially broken down by the bacteria in the colon; this process is again aided by the production of enzymes in this part of the body. Comparatively, starches are broken down in a couple of hours or less, while proteins take at least that long, and may stay in the body for upwards of 5 hours. Fat takes even longer, which means that high fat meals stay in the body for potentially many hours.

How Nuts Are Composed: Proteins and Fiber

High in both fiber and protein (as well as healthy fat — upwards of fifty percent), most tree nuts also contain a good deal of protein (10-20%). The fiber content in nuts is also significant, amounting to upwards of ten percent of their nutritional make-up. Nuts make up an excellent source of nutrition and sustained energy for these very reasons: the fiber and healthy fat contents, along with the protein, all make for a slow digestion cycle in the body.

Digesting Nuts: How Preparation Might Factor In

As mentioned earlier, cooking methods like roasting or baking can also influence the how your body successfully (or otherwise) digests nuts. Any type of cooking essentially breaks down food at a chemical level, in a way not dissimilar to the body’s own methods. The lower the temperature, the better the process aids the body itself in further breaking down and digesting the food. High-temperature baking and cooking destroys many of these same chemical bonds. The good fats to be found in nuts are among these bonds that are destroyed in high-temperature cooking.

Other Compounds Found in Nuts, and Digestion

Tannins, found in nuts, are naturally occurring complex polyphenolics, and are often found in woody plants. Polyphenolics are simply natural antioxidants that comprise an organic defense for plants; these may also be good for human health. The tannins’ main function in nature is a protective one, as their bitter taste deters many animals from eating the foods that contain them. For example, walnuts are chief among the foods high in tannin. Additionally, tannins are contained in cashews, pistachios, pecans and the skins of almonds and peanuts.

These same tannins are heat-resistant, so even high temperature baking and roasting does not break them down, which partially explains why the nuts might give some people trouble when digesting. The fibrous quality of nuts, given the intestine’s inability to completely break down fiber, also explains why there may be some trouble digesting nuts. Gas is produced by the intestine in many cases as some of the colon’s bacteria attempts to break down whatever parts of the fiber that it can.

Cooking, Roasting, Baking: Digestion Helpers With Nuts?

Cooking nuts in a variety of fashions, to recap, does aid in breaking down the starch elements of the the nuts’ nutritional make-up. However, the very elements that might increase difficulty in digestion, the high proteins, tannins and fiber, still produce problems for many. The plant protein-rich quality of nuts may prove to be handled well by the stomach, though in many cases, where the pancreas aids in the process, the roasting of the nuts can help improve nuts’ digestibility.

Digesting Nuts May Be Slow, But Benefits Are High

It is the healthy fats found in nuts that end up contributing to the slowing down of digestion the most. This is especially true when compared to how quickly the body may break down foods that are high in carbohydrates, like breads and fruits. The fiber in nuts is generally what gives a feeling of fullness, but the gas that is produced in the intestines as some bacteria attempt to break down the nut’s fiber may also promote a full feeling. Eating too many nuts at a time (beyond two servings) may produce many of the symptoms and effects mentioned above, leading a person to feel full and perhaps suffer mild indigestion. The reality is that the proteins, fiber and healthy fats are the cause — not over-eating.

Benefits of Soaking and Rehydrating Nuts

Soaking nuts like almonds and cashews in filtered water re-hydrates them. Beyond the enriched flavor and new texture, the process also removes chemicals known as enzyme inhibitors. These chemicals are natural, and exist for the purpose of protecting the nut until it is the appropriate time for it to sprout. When you soak the nuts in water, the fluids release the enzyme inhibitors and wash them away. For those who experience a bit of trouble when digesting dried nuts, removing the enzyme inhibitors (which can make the nut difficult to digest) may solve the problem.

Other options to aid in digestion include eating raw nuts in smaller portions, to maximize the healthy benefits of the nuts while minimizing the pain of indigestion, or lightly roasting nuts to begin the process of chemically breaking down the nuts. Avoid commercially roasted nuts, however, as the high temperatures (+170F) cause a breakdown of the fats in nuts, thus producing free radicals that are harmful to the body.

For more on Rehydrating Nuts, read this post.

Copyright 2008 Organic Eating Daily

Eating raw is not as difficult or as complicated as one might imagine. Greens, nuts and fruits all make for quick and easy snacks.

Not everyone’s digestion is the same, however, and eating dried fruits can be difficult for some.

Likewise, mixing dried fruits and nuts in the same snack time can spell troubles for some snackers. When the fruits have been dehydrated, they lose all of their water content, which then has to be re-supplied by your body. This can be distressing, often producing an upset stomach or trouble with digestion.

Re-hydrating Fruits

Re-hydrating fruits and nuts can be the answer for such troubles. Soaking dried fruit in filtered water for a period of time can reinvigorate the fruits, making them more easily digestible in the process. Further, those who eat and cook with nothing but raw foods will often dehydrate and/or re-hydrate nuts, grains and fruits, allowing for a greater variety of textures during the cooking process.

Re-hydrating Nuts

Soaking nuts and seeds in filtered water also re-hydrates them. Beyond the enriched flavor and new texture, the process also removes chemicals known as enzyme inhibitors. These chemicals are natural, and exist for the purpose of protecting the nut until it is the appropriate time for it to sprout. When you soak the nuts in water, the fluids release the enzyme inhibitors and wash them away. For those who experience a bit of trouble when digesting dried nuts, removing the enzyme inhibitors (which can make the nut difficult to digest) may solve the problem.

How to Re-hydrate Almonds

Typically, I clean a handful of almonds at night before I go to bed, and then close them up in a small Tupperware container filled with enough distilled water to cover the nuts, leaving it on the counter or in the ‘fridge overnight. When I wake up the next morning, I’ve got perfectly re-hydrated almonds that taste great after a quick rinse. I store them in the refrigerator and eat them as snacks over the course of a day or two.

There are no perfect, set answers for healthy, vegetarian or raw food dieters. Tweak your eating habits when one food or snack brings about digestive problems, until you find a routine that works best for you.




Copyright 2008 Organic Eating Daily