My love affair with cacao began in a spiritual community in Nicaragua. We gathered weekly for cacao ceremonies and I was blown away by how cacao made me feel - alive, open, free… and little a bit frisky. I then moved to Mexico where I drank cacao daily, and eventually phased out coffee altogether (with surprising ease). This was an unexpected turn of events, having been a hardcore coffee drinker for almost a decade (as in, 3 to 4 cups per day of my usual ‘strong three-quarter-full extra-hot soy latte with half a teaspoon of honey if you please’).
It wasn’t a particularly strategic decision. It was simply a preference. Cacao makes me feel really nice, whereas in hindsight, coffee was more of an addiction, a quick fix, and made me a bit wired and weird, back when I was already operating in a constant state of mild to moderate anxiety.
As an energy source cacao is more pleasant, gentle, long-lasting and smooth, while coffee is intense, fast-acting and short-lived. And, as meditation and yoga seeped into my life, it became obvious that coffee was more of a hindrance than a help. By contrast, cacao has been a constant, comforting companion.
I’ve now delved into the science and it appears my instinct to ditch coffee in favour of cacao is backed by a growing body of research. I’ve narrowed this down to my top five reasons for us all to consider substituting at least one cup of coffee per day for cacao.
Coffee increases epinephrine (adrenaline) levels in your blood. This is the fight-or-flight hormone, associated with the sympathetic nervous system. To give this some context, we do practices like yoga and meditation to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the role of which is to help us relax, digest and metabolise food, and undo the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is meant only to operate in times of real danger, yet, these days, most people exist in this fear-based mode for the majority of their lives.
So… having a nice cup of coffee right before yoga is counter-productive, and too much caffeine is exacerbating a problem that’s already rife in our modern world: the over-stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.
Caffeine, especially in the form of black coffee, also produces cortisol, the stress hormone. When cortisol is released into the body, our entire system goes into alert-mode, and a circuit of stress-response is sent back to the brain.
A similar process occurs when we experience stressful emotions and negative thoughts - these all amplify stress responses since the brain doesn’t distinguish between real and imagined threats. Even small increases in cortisol can raise blood sugar and increase insulin resistance. Large amounts of cortisol can cause anxiety, cognitive impairment, decrease in brain activity, and problems with emotional perception, processing and regulation. Extreme agitation, insomnia and bruxism (clenching/grinding teeth) are all signs of heightened cortisol in your body. Chronic stress - defined by high levels of stress hormones like cortisol -cortisol - eventually wears out the endocrine system, weakening the immune system.
By contrast, cacao's active ingredient, theobromine, reduces cortisol, and is a much more gentle stimulant than caffeine. Cacao is also high in magnesium, a mineral chronically deficient in the western diet, which, according to multiple scientific studies, reduces anxiety and helps us relax.
Note: cacao does contain trace amounts of caffeine, but we’re talking 3.3mg per 100g of roasted cacao paste, compared to 40mg per 100g for coffee.
Flavanols are a type of plant nutrient found in many foods and drinks, such as tea, red wine, blueberries, apples, pears, cherries, and peanuts. They are particularly abundant in cacao beans, and have been studied extensively. They have been shown to help lower blood pressure, improve blood flow to the brain and heart, prevent blood clots, and fight cell damage.
Similarly, theobromine, cacao’s unique psychoactive compound, stimulates the cardiovascular system, opening our blood vessels. This allows blood to flow more freely and sends more oxygen throughout the body. This may be the reason cacao reportedly (and experientially) generates a heart-opening feeling, and a sense of tenderness.
Regular consumption of cacao has been linked to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, and may reduce our chances of suffering from heart disease. Cacao has also been shown to decrease arterial stiffness, which is closely linked to the risk of hypertension, chronic kidney disease and stroke.
Take the Kuna Indians, an indigenous population native to islands off the coast of Panama. The Kuna belong to one of the rare cultures that are protected against age-dependent increase in blood pressure and the development of arterial hypertension. The Kunas consume enormous amounts of cacao daily. Clinical studies reveal they have lower blood pressure values, no age-dependent decline in liver function, and substantially lower mortality resulting from cardiovascular events than other Pan-American citizens.
Cacao’s magnesium content helps decrease blood coagulation, reducing the risk of blood clots and subsequently the risk of heart attack or stroke.
By contrast, caffeine has been linked to systolic (i.e. extremely high) blood pressure, especially in those who don’t consume coffee very often. It can also stimulate the intensity of heart contractions, and increase the amount of calcium inside the cells in the heart, which can negatively impact the heart’s pumping action. For some this can make the heart feel like it is pound, racing or beating irregularly.
The jury is out on whether coffee is detrimental or beneficial for our health overall, especially given the effects vary greatly between individuals. However, some well-established findings are cause for concern.
Even small amounts of coffee can trigger all too familiar side effects, such as restlessness, jitteriness, and rapid or irregular heartbeat.
Other studies demonstrate the effect of caffeine on sleep, with a clear association between a daily intake of caffeine and reduced sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness. Higher doses of caffeine (4+ cups per day) have been linked to anxiety, agitation, stomach upset, nausea and vomiting.
There are also some rather alarming links between caffeine and infertility. Alissa Vitta from FloLiving lists the following:
Caffeine is associated with sub-optimal or suppressed fertility and, therefore, difficulties conceiving;
Drinking caffeinated beverages during early pregnancy (before you may know that you’re pregnant) increases the risk of early pregnancy loss;
Caffeine is considered an impairment to fertility alongside alcohol and smoking;
Coffee disrupts ovulation by increasing cortisol levels and stressing the adrenals;
Coffee depletes vital vitamins and minerals needed for ovulation and healthy fertility (including absolutely necessary B vitamins and folate); and
I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves here, but if you want more information on the mineral content of cacao and the associated benefits, have a look at our cacao benefits page.
Cacao helps us relax, and is a gentler, longer-lasting, and more pleasant energy source than coffee. It is also one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, so with every cup you’re not just getting a ‘quick fix’, you’re getting a highly nutritious (and delicious) boost of goodness. Coffee, on the other hand, increases anxiety levels, sends us into ‘flight-or-fight’ mode, and is void of any nutritional value.
That said, studies have shown that coffee can lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease, liver cancer, chronic liver disease, and even Type 2 diabetes, so it’s certainly not all bad in moderation. It also varies from person to person, according to our genetic make-up. We’re not suggesting you should remove coffee from your daily routine altogether, but we do recommend switching out a cup or two of coffee for our Soma Cacao.
Ready to try? Grab a sampler pack for just $29 to find out if cacao is for you, and if so which of our award-winning varieties you love the most.
