Taking Your Cocoa

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If you haven’t already heard about the Kuna people—who live on the beautiful San Blas Islands off Panama—you will soon! A 20-year Harvard University investigation found they have among the lowest known rates of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and cancer of any population on the planet, says ethnobotanist Chris Kilham, author of Hot Plants. And you don’t have to live in a tropical paradise to enjoy many of the same benefits. Simply try…

“The Kunas drink coconut water, eat the meat fresh, use the meat and milk in cooking and bathe with coconut soap!” says Naomi Whittel (KunaInstitute.org). Not only does coconut contain compounds that improve sleep and help prevent wrinkles, the fats in coconut milk and oil have been shown to accelerate weight loss!

The Kuna consume about 6 cups of pure cocoa a day—which is a key factor behind their low heart disease rates. A Harvard Medicinal School analysis reveals that cocoa lowers bad cholesterol, increases good cholesterol, lowers blood pressure and improves insulin sensitivity (which lowers your risk of diabetes), say team leader Eric Ding, Ph.D.

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