*Editor’s Note: No website is designed to, and can not be construed to, provide actual medical advice, professional diagnosis or treatment to you or anyone. Elephant is not intended as a substitute for medical or professional advice, care and treatment.

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I kid you not.

I had just finished presenting a workshop on the benefits of one of my favourite superfoods, raw cacao.

The crowd had left and we—a few friends and I—were packing up. I mentioned that I read somewhere that you could actually snort the stuff.

Next minute, credit cards were out and we were lining up brown, chocolatey rails from the left over cacao. All in the name of research of course.

The effect was instant.

Apart from tasting and being overwhelmed by the smell of chocolate, I felt refreshed, energised and wide awake. Not in a “I had too much caffeine, heart palpitating, nervous or buzzy” kind of way.

No, this was different.

It was a smooth, sustained, more invigorating and easy-going kind of high—a rush of well-being flooded my body.

My love and I went home, giggling about what had just happened. It felt a bit naughty! I had a shower, went straight to bed and fell asleep! No horrible come down, no nervousness, no anxiety.

Could raw cacao replace recreational drugs and caffeine?

The answer is hell yes.

I started digging around for more juice on the subject and was overwhelmed by what I discovered.

It seems a new craze of snorting lines of cacao is sweeping through Europe’s clubs, with dedicated events now offering it in place of alcohol and drugs, like cocaine and ecstasy. At one monthly party in Berlin, ravers keep dancing until dawn just from the buzz of raw chocolate taken in drink, pill or powdered form.

Why cacao?

The seeds of the cacao tree were originally considered to have divine properties and were used by ancient cultures in ceremonies and rituals to increase personal mental states to the level of ecstasy. Only later was it processed and mixed with sugar and milk to manufacture the chocolate we consume today.

Raw unadulterated cacao delivers a potent amount of endorphins into your bloodstream which can make you feel euphoric, especially when coupled with dance music.

It also contains tyrosine. Tyrosine is a precursor to dopamine, which fuels the body’s pleasure and reward system. The dopamine receptors in our brains are also part of the same system that opioid-related drugs—including heroin and oxycontin—react with for their addictive properties.

Furthermore, raw cacao also contains huge amounts of magnesium, which relaxes you.

A recent study by London’s Kingston University on cyclists also found that cacao can make you go faster and further. The plant chemical epicatechin, present in cacao, is thought to boost the body’s ability to widen its blood vessels. This speeds oxygen supply to the muscles, allowing them to make the most of precious energy.

The appeal of snorting chocolate.

Its popularity in clubs appears to be booming so much that a chef has invented a device to conveniently snort the powder on the go!

Belgian chocolatier Dominique Persoone made the device for a Rolling Stones party in 2007. The concept has taken off and been used by culinary innovators such as Heston Blumenthal at his restaurant The Fat Duck.

This could be the most legitimate, healthy and safe way to get your boogie on and let go of some stress. Not only is it cheap and plentiful, but there is no way it will ever be made illegal. Sober fun has never looked this good.

There is, however, at least one doctor who says that it isn’t safe to snort cacao, or anything else really. Dr. Jordan Josephson, a ENT doctor in New York has said, “Snorting chocolate powder is not safe, because the powder is perceived by the nose as a foreign toxic substance.” Live Science reported that Dr Josephson informed them that the practice could, “damage the microscopic hairs, or cilia, and membranes of the nose, causing problems with their ability to work correctly, as well as possible scarring.” Finally, “Putting any foreign bodies—including smoke, cocaine and/or chocolate powder—is not safe and is not advised,” he said.

Not keen on sniffing it?

Try it instead of your morning coffee! A cup of warm, sensual raw cacao is sure to awaken your senses first thing.

I suggest this to almost all of my clients who are after more energy and happier, sexier hormones.

Here’s how I make mine:

2 teaspoons of raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon of maca (optional)
1/2 cup boiled water
1/2 cup of nut milk
maple syrup or honey to sweeten (optional)
pinch of cinnamon

Discovering that I could not only eat cacao, but snort it, makes the hedonistic rebel inside of me feel satisfied. Who knows, I might even start my own drug-free, cacao sniffing parties here in New Zealand.

Bonus:

Author: Irma Schutte

Image: Andrea/Flickr 

Editor: Erin Lawson