Coffee energizes us with caffeine, which is processed through the central nervous system (CNS). Our CNS regulates our sense of groundedness, safety, and connection. The onset of the caffeine can be quite fast acting and intense (ever feel the coffee jitters?) and can end with an energy crash a few hours later. This can be a lot for sensitive nervous systems!

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), coffee is warming and stimulating and can deplete Yin, which is associated with cooling and moisture in the body. This depletion can lead to dryness, irritability, or even insomnia. Many of us have probably experienced anxiousness or restlessness from having too much coffee. 

Cacao can be elevating and energizing in its own right. Where a standard cup of coffee has about 100mg of caffeine, a cup of cacao has about 35mg. However, the caffeine in cacao isn’t processed like it is in coffee. The healthy fats of naturally occuring cacao butter in your cup of cacao slows down the metabolization of caffeine.  This has the same effect as  when people add butter, coconut oil, or ghee to their coffee. 

So cacao contains minimal amounts of caffeine as compared to coffee and it’s also processed differently in the body due to the presence of the cacao butter. Significantly, the bulk of the energy one receives from cacao is actually derived from the star component of cacao called “theobromine”. 

More Benefits of the Star Stimulant of Cacao: Theobromine

Theobromine is a chemical compound found in cacao that provides gentle energy, improves your mood, supports heart health, and more. Theobromine is processed more slowly in the body over the course of a day compared to caffeine, leading to more sustainable energy without a crash. Theobromine is processed through the cardiovascular system, which controls our heart rate and flow of blood through the body, as opposed to the nervous system like coffee. Because of this, cacao actually supports the healthy functioning of your heart! Just another reason they call it heart medicine. There’s even more we can say about the beneficial effects of this fantastic compound, Theobromine. Here are some of our favorite highlights:

• Theobromine helps maintain a healthy heart. It is a vasodilator (relaxes blood vessels), so it may reduce blood pressure. (This is in contrast to caffeine which increases blood pressure). It also increases blood flow by 30-40% and helps protect from cardiovascular disease.
• Theobromine improves absorption of the nutrients in cacao and the superfoods it is paired with. 
• Theobromine has been studied as an alternative to fluoride! Research actually now suggests that theobromine can protect tooth enamel from erosion and can strengthen teeth overall since it remineralizes the body. Of course, that’s for cacao without sugar because sugar counteracts this effect.
• This benefit may come as a surprise, but theobromine helps relax the airways in the lungs, leading to improved oxygenation! Research now suggests that theobromine can be an effective cough suppressant and can be useful for managing asthma symptoms.

As an interesting aside, the etymology of the word theobromine points to one of the origin stories of cacao, namely, that it is the food of the goods. In Greek, theo means god and broma means food. With all this said, we definitely can appreciate what a gift from the gods this amazing ally of cacao truly is and how it can support our daily wellness!