Every year, it seems like a new miracle, health supplement or superfood grips the internet, and becomes the new aid to weight loss. It gets raved about on social media, talked about at dinner parties and purchased in copious amounts. At one point it was acai berries, then it was gluten-free food, then it was matcha, and chia seed. It feels like out of the blue, a specific product gets the spotlight and people start using it to support a healthy diet. It can be so hard to keep up!
What about a superfood that has held steady in its popularity for years, something that has always been great for weight loss and needs to be talked about more? I'm talking about cacao, the superfood that can actually be a gamechanger if you're trying to eat healthy and even lose weight. By just making the healthier switch (from processed foods to more natural and raw foods), we can actually reduce a huge source of calories, and people have been doing so for years.
How to Eat Cacao
According to the leading cacao experts and retailers at Blue Stripes, there's a multitude of ways you can bring cacao into your diet. "You can blend cacao nibs into your morning smoothie or stir into a bowl of yogurt for a satisfying breakfast. Similarly, cacao nibs can be sprinkled into granola or simply mixed into a dried fruit and nut mixture for an easy snack. Some chefs even top grilled meats with a little pinch of cacao nibs." This superfood is highly versatile and can enhance any meal or type of food if you're creative with it.
How Can Cacao Aid Weight Loss?
There are several components that make up the process of losing weight on the food side of things. There's metabolism, protein-boosting, appetite suppression and calorie intake. Eating cacao can impact many of these pillars of weight loss because of the unique combination of nutrients and properties. Here are 3 ways adding this food to your diet will help you shed pounds or keep them off.
Improved Satiety
One of the most important parts of weight loss is eating foods that keep you fuller longer. That reduces how often you'll find yourself reaching for snacks throughout the day. One of the properties cacao has is boosting your satiety which is a powerful way to keep your appetite under control. Adding cacao into some of the foods you eat will mean those meals go for longer, and keep you energized.
Metabolism Booster
Your metabolism is how well your body is able to make use of energy. A slow metabolism makes it harder for us to burn fat, and also leads to our bodies storing more energy, which contributes to us piling on the pounds. There are many foods that have been documented to help speed up your metabolism, and cacao is one of them. Adding it to your diet can make your body use its energy more effectively, making it easier to lose weight or keep weight off.
Appetite Suppressant
For most people the biggest struggle with eating for weight loss is not being able to get into a calorie deficit. If the amount of energy we expend everyday is more than the energy we take in when we eat, we trigger weight loss. This can be hard to do when your appetite makes you eat more than you need. Cacao has been shown to be an effective appetite suppressant. This can keep any excessive hunger pangs at bay and allow you to eat a nutritious diet that's triggered for weight loss, without overeating.
When it comes to losing weight, your diet makes the difference between seeing results and feeling stuck and frustrated for months. Every food choice we make impacts how many calories we take in and how efficiently our bodies utilize energy. Cacao is a powerful superfood that can be helpful in your weight loss goals. It's a natural product, which is one of the most important things we should be looking for in what we eat. The less processed foods we eat, the more we start to eat what allows our bodies to thrive.
Cacao also has numerous beneficial properties working in its favor. It can control your appetite and boost your metabolism, two things that will help you lose weight. It's important to remember that taking care of our bodies by eating well and working out empowers us and changes our quality of life. Choosing to eat foods and supplements that boost our health is one of the most powerful ways to optimize our health and wellness.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of foodworldnews.com
