Many of us know that comforting moment after waking up and wandering into the kitchen, brewing up a fresh cup of coffee, and sitting down to smell, sip, and meditate over a morning cup of coffee.

Unfortunately, while this scene sounds so inviting, there’s typically a period, later in the day, where the adrenal fatigue will set in and cortisol levels will spike.

Not to mention the potential for insomnia, anxiety, and mood destabilization.

Now, we certainly don’t want to take your favorite moment in the morning away from you. We simply want to share a potential path that won’t risk your wellness later on in the day…cacao!

Cacao is a powerful and delicious alternative to coffee because it not only doesn’t have a crash that wears you down, but it provides you with sustained energy and focus throughout the day. Here, we will discuss some of the long-term effects of drinking highly caffeinated beverages and offer a delicious solution that allows you to keep all of your favorite moments, and then some.

The Cost of Regular Caffeine Consumption

Ever wondered why you keep craving coffee to keep you going? While its role in functioning as the fuel in the machine of capitalism creates a larger contextual issue, its action as a normalized stimulant can cause long-term damage to our bodies. Caffeine is a stimulant that activates the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” response), and then increases cortisol levels in the blood, potentially leading to adrenal fatigue. 

We are not saying caffeine is bad. However, many things, in high doses, can reach a toxicity level, including caffeinated coffee. While a very small serving can be medicinal, most of the caffeine consumption on the planet is in high to very high doses. As a highly addictive stimulant, drinkers may experience increased anxiety, breathing, increased heart rate, and adrenal fatigue due to frequent cortisol spikes.

Many coffee drinkers may not realize the harmful side effects that are taking place, because of an unfortunate, all too common demand for people to perform faster, and stronger than what is realistically sustainable for a multifaceted human being. It is important to remember that simply because something is normalized, does not mean it is any less damaging. 

How Does Ceremonial Cacao Differ?

Theobromine is the dominant xanthine in cacao. Think of theobromine like caffeine, without all of the negative side effects. While cacao, like coffee, is also a diuretic, unlike caffeine, theobromine boasts a stimulant effect without the uncomfortable jitters or crashes that come with coffee drinking. Theobromine reduces and balances blood pressure and relaxes smooth muscle tissues, improving overall cardiovascular health.

When the heart is more relaxed, the parasympathetic nervous system comes online and soothes the mind, helping to ease depression and anxiety. The support of the ‘bliss molecule’ anandamide, a compound found in cacao, increases euphoria and overall mood.

Not only does cacao reduce anxiety, but it’s also got 700+ compounds that boost your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Hence, why it’s considered a superfood. And the “Food for Shift” And the “Food of the Gods”. It wouldn’t be called all these names for generations… millennia even… for nothing!

Why Shift from Coffee to Cacao?

Making the shift from coffee to cacao is an act of self-love and a lifestyle choice between short-term gratification & gains (caffeine) and long-term sustainable physical & mental health (cacao). 

On a physical level, the health of the adrenals, liver, kidneys, skin,  and bowels can all greatly improve. The initial detox from caffeine can best be supported by increasing your intake of water, fulvic and humic minerals, greens such as parsley, cilantro, spirulina, chlorella, (even liquid chlorophyll), and increasing the number of intentional breaths you take in a day. 

Add in a few minutes a day of deep breathing to help bring regulation and ease to your nervous system during the detox. Depending on how much of a detox your body is calling for, after a few weeks of drinking cacao in place of your old coffee routine, you may start to feel lighter, more open, calm, and secure. 

When the body is in a state of equilibrium - that is, the breath is balanced and full, the blood is oxygenated, the mind is a calm ally, and the body is active each day - we have natural energy flowing abundantly to us and through us. 

Cacao can help us connect to this natural flow of energy so we can move through life connected to the resource of our hearts. Given the ways in which the stresses of the world seem to insurmountably compound, from the news stories of environmental crises, gun violence, and discrimination to the stresses of keeping up with the economic systems, our hearts could all use a little more softness. 

Cacao is one potent medicine we can utilize to introduce this softening into our lives.  

Love is the medicine cacao offers us, so let love lead the way.