There is a misconception in the community that drinking too much Samoan cocoa (Koko Samoa) is bad for your health as it is claimed that it raises your cholesterol and makes you gain weight. 

To prevent "the baby from being thrown out with the bathwater", let me come to the defence of our treasured Koko Samoa! In its Healthy Living programme, METI invites interested individuals to participate in a Health Seminar, in which the causes of their medical conditions are explained and the mechanisms clarified that allow the whole food plant-based (WFPB) nutrition approach to reverse those medical conditions. 

One of those mechanisms is to maximize the function of the ‘endothelial cells’, those cells that line the inner layer of the arteries throughout the body. With the right nutrition, these cells produce nitric oxide, a gas (can you believe it!) that allows the muscle fibres in the middle layer of the arteries to relax, in this way allowing the blood vessels to dilate, which promptly increases the blood flow to the corresponding organs. Among the various phytochemicals (plant chemicals), polyphenols, in particular, are mostly responsible for such beneficial effects on arterial structures. Medical literature is abundant on the subject that confirms that polyphenols because they allow blood vessels to dilate, have the ability to lower blood pressure. 

Cocoa beans are one of the richest known sources of polyphenols, in particular a sub-class of polyphenols, called flavanols, whose protective properties have been recognized and used by several cultures for centuries. Both the Aztecs in pre-Columbian times and the present Kuna Indians in Central America consumed a brew ‘dissolving dried cocoa beans in water’ (not unlike Samoans dissolving the cocoa paste in hot water). 

There is a consensus that the consumption of a cocoa drink containing 900 mg of total flavanols per day shows consistent cardiovascular benefits. This is based on the extensive epidemiological research conducted on the Kuna Indians living on the islands off the coast of Panama. Island-dwelling Kuna Indians on average consume 1.88 gm of flavanols a day of which about 900 mg come from cocoa beans. That is because besides consuming more than 4 cups or 30-40 ounces of a cocoa drink on a daily basis, the Kuna follows a mostly plant-based diet. Encouragingly, the research also identified that the vascular effects of the flavanol-rich cocoa may be greater among older people, in whom endothelial function is more disturbed! 

As we have reported frequently, cardiovascular disease is one of the main causes of death not only in our country, but worldwide, and yet it is largely preventable. The focus should be on encouraging healthy lifestyle choices: following a WFPB diet and drinking flavanol-rich cocoa drinks!  So, how do we make a flavanol-rich cocoa drink? A few years back, SROS helped METI to solve that issue. In summary, compared with the Kuna cocoa, which was reported as containing 3 g of flavanols per 100 g of cocoa beans, the SROS analysis showed that fresh, washed, Samoa cocoa beans provide nearly twice the amount of flavanols (5.7 g per 100 g of cocoa beans), whereas sun-dried, washed cocoa beans were found to contain 5 g of flavanols per 100 g of cocoa beans. 

It stands to reason that if Samoans would drink 4 cups of the ‘cocoa power drink’ similar to what the Kuna consume a day, it would help to combat the NCD epidemic that now affects so many of our people. We recommend that to ensure the full health benefits of Samoan cocoa, one should consume about 20 fresh (if available) or sun-dried cocoa beans a day. This is based on our measurements that the average cocoa bean weighs about 1 g. In this way, the daily amount of flavanols consumed would be around 1000 mg for sundried cocoa beans (and a bit higher for fresh cocoa beans). 

In other words: only use fresh cocoa beans or sundried, what is called ‘koko mago’ (sold in the local markets as ‘pepa koko’). Please note that the analysis of fermented and roasted Samoan cocoa (koko mata) only yielded 1.3 g of flavanols per 100 g of cocoa beans, proving that the high temperature of roasting destroys most of the flavanols. In summary, based on our calculations, if we consume 20 cocoa beans (koko mago) we will take in about 1000 mg of polyphenols a day, just like the Kuna Indians, one of the healthiest populations on earth! We believe that in this way, the full potential of the Samoan cocoa to improve the cardiovascular health of Samoa’s population will be achieved. (We have one notable warning: patients with End-stage renal failure (ESRF) should consult their physician first because of the high content of Potassium in cocoa.) 

Finally, to answer the question about cocoa causing a rise in cholesterol levels: according to an article that summarized many other articles on the subject (a meta-analysis), the cocoa flavanols, even as a short-term intervention, lowered the (bad) low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol levels. So, let’s be clear: if a high cholesterol blood level is reported, it is mostly likely caused by the person consuming the fatty, animal-based Western diet, and not by drinking Koko Samoa.

We invite you to visit METI’s Healthy Living Clinic at House No. 51 at Motootua (across from the Kokobanana Restaurant) to become acquainted with METI’s whole food plant-based diet and Lifestyle Change programs. Or call us at 30550. Learning how to follow these Programs might be your ‘game changer’!