Ayurvedic perspective on Raw Cacao

I first started eating cacao in 2011 when introduced to it by a naturopath and was taught how to make my own raw chocolates. That was it, I couldn’t get enough of it and was eating it everyday. I think at the time I was using raw cacao as a way to heal my heart and bring more love into my life. Raw cacao does have an affinity with the heart and is thought to open the heart chakra and create feelings of bliss and unconditional love.

Fast forward to 2019 when I had my first Ayurvedic consultation and I realised how much my raw cacao addiction had been a contributing factor in unbalancing my doshas. There were other factors involved too but eating too much raw cacao was aggravating my Vata and Pitta doshas. I was shocked to realise this and stopped eating it and instead turned to naturally sweet foods such as dates, sweet potatoes and home made treats made with raw dark brown sugar to fulfil my sweet taste.

The sweet taste was severely lacking in my diet as I had given up sugar of most kinds and was making my raw chocolates with lacuma (a fruit powder). The sweet taste helps to balance both Vata and Pitta doshas so by avoiding this I was further aggravating both.

The qualities of raw cacao, according to Ayurveda, are:

Taste – Bitter

Vipak (after taste) – Pungent

Virya (heating/cooling) – Heating

Other qualities – light, dry, mobile and hard to digest

With any substance in Ayurveda, it can either be a food, a medicine or a poison and it really depends on who is consuming the substance, in what quantity, in what season and how it’s prepared.

Cacao can therefore be most challenging for anyone with a Vata or Pitta constitution or anyone with these imbalances.

The effects of cacao for a Vata dominant person:

Cacao’s qualities of bitterness, lightness, dryness and mobile nature will aggravate Vata as they share the same qualities. Not only that but as cacao is a stimulant it can easily imbalance the nervous system of a vata dominant person which is more delicate. The hard to digest nature of cacao may also be challenging to vata since they tend to have irregular digestive fires. Some symptoms that may appear after a vata person consumes raw cacao is bloating and gas, constipation, dry skin, anxiety, insomnia or an over stimulated nervous system.

The effects of cacao for a Pitta dominant person:

Cacao’s qualities of lightness, pungency and heating nature will aggravate Pitta even though they have a stronger digestion. Some symptoms that could appear could be heartburn, inflammation, loose stools and skin rashes.

The effects of cacao for a Kapha dominant person:

Cacao is most balancing for Kapha dominant people since the bitter and pungent taste coupled with the heating effects will help to redress any sluggishness in their body and mind. Although, Kapha people tend to have a slow digestive fire so it may be too hard to digest for them. Any chocolate mixed with dairy or sugar would be a definite ‘no’ for them unfortunately especially as this is probably what they crave the most.

So moderation is the key for everyone and less is definitely more. I’ve been satisfying my cravings with just a little cacao mixed with dates and spices to aid digestion so as not to imbalance me. Also I keep listening to my body and when I feel any signs of imbalance again I know it is time to stop.

With love,

Claire