The darker the chocolate, the sweeter the benefits

The world has had a sinful love affair with chocolate for thousands of years. The Aztecs originally used it for medicine among other things. The key to optimum health for centuries was the xocolatl until it changed hands through trades to the Dutch. Chocolate soon reached more people but in the process also changed form. The chocolate found in today’s candy is PROCESSED (which kills the antioxidant content). Processed chocolate is laden with fat, wax, fillers, preservatives and sugar.

If I were to tell you that chocolate was actually good for you, would you be inclined to know more? I know I was! Studies have shown that 60% or higher cocoa content is actually beneficial for you. And despite popular belief, not all chocolate is actually ‘candy’, at least in original form. The cocoa bean is a fruit, and a very potent one.

Healthy Chocolate? Yes! A health food for heart and mind. As stated in the October 2005 Prevention Magazine, and in the March 2009 WebMD eating dark chocolates can provide many health benefits unbeknownst to many in the past. Raw cocoa has the highest antioxidant value of all the natural foods in the world! Cocoa beans contain 10,000 milligrams (10 grams) of flavanol antioxidants per 100 grams - or an amazing 10% antioxidant concentration level! When it comes to supplying your body with effective antioxidants, no other natural food can even come close. No exotic super-fruit like Acai ("ah-SIGH-hee") berries, no high-antioxidant fruits like prunes or blueberries, and no vegetables. The antioxidants in cocoa are easily absorbed by the human body, and are more stable and long-lasting than those in any other foods.

Can you get more numerous flavoniods from other foods? Surprisingly, the answer is “not really.” Many people don't realize that chocolate is plant-derived, as are fruits and vegetables. Next to raw and unprocessed organic cocoa, organic dark chocolate is the healthiest form of chocolate - especially when it contains more of the nutritious cocoa mass and less of the fattening cocoa butter and sugar. The dark chocolate is “healthier” when it is unsweetened or bittersweet dark chocolate. Any sweetened dark chocolate is a little less “healthy” when it is sweetened with refined white sugar (sucrose) instead of raw cane sugar or dehydrated cane juice.

The Healthiest Chocolate?

Not all dark chocolate is created equal. I have done a lot of research in the area of nutrition and the benefits to be found in herbs, foods, plants and supplements. When I was introduced to the newer literature claiming the health benefits of chocolate, one specific brand of dark chocolate stood apart and I was blown away!

The very best healthy, high-quality, dairy-free, organic chocolate made from the fruit of the Theobroma Cacao tree is Xocai™ chocolate from MXI Corp. headquartered in Reno, Nevada, USA (and with distribution centers in countries throughout the world, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Philippines).

Xocai™ (pronounced like "SHOW-sigh") healthy chocolate products are produced with unprocessed, non-alkalized, non-lecithinized cacao powder, combined with acai berries, blueberries, and low-glycemic natural sweeteners (diabetic friendly). Raw cacao has the greatest concentration of antioxidants, and acai berries the second greatest, among all of the natural foods.

Xocai is the world's ONLY source of chocolate made from cold-pressed raw cocoa that has NOT been heat-treated OR treated with alkaline chemicals (which destroy much of the antioxidant flavanols). Their Belgian gourmet chocolate is made by a much healthier patented process that no other chocolate manufacturer is able to duplicate.

While I haven’t been around as long as the Mayans or Aztecs, I have been eating dark chocolate for at least a decade or two. In fact, not a day has past during this time that I didn’t have a piece after dinner. Nobody said it was good for me; I just enjoyed it. My wife, a dental hygienist of 15 years, 'used' to tell me it was bad for my teeth. She too was surprised to learn about the anticariogenic properties of healthy chocolate. When I learned of these and other health benefits people have been experiencing from dark chocolate, and the research that has been done on it, I had to share the news with all my family, friends and patients. Switching from Hershey or Ghirardelli was easy; continue eating the only dark chocolate that not only tastes good, but is proven good for me.

If you’re interested in lowering cholesterol, reducing heart disease, improving your immune response, reducing inflammation, improving your moods, or losing weight without sacrificing your cravings, please ask me for additional information.

Enjoy.

Dr. Langlitz

Xocai products are produced with unprocessed, non-alkalized, non-lecithinized cacao powder, combined with the Acai berry and blueberries. The combination of these ingredients, in their natural state, provide a product that is packed full of the most powerful antioxidants! Chocolate products on store shelves use processed cocoa powder and sugars, along with bad fats,fillers, waxes, preservatives, and they contain a high amount of calories!

1. Xocai: The Perfect Combination
2. A business opportunity: Healthy chocolate
3. The Compensation Plan
4. Xocai Corporate Site
5. Xocai MLM Chocolate Business Review."Steve Jankowski"
6. The Science Behind Xocai
7. University of Utah: Xocai Research Project
8. Georgetown Research: Cocoa slows tumor growth
9. National Cancer Institute on Antioxidants
10. Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
11. Healthy Bacteria-Probiotics
12. Hershey Comparison
13. Chocolate by definition
14. ORAC Values
15. What is Oxygen radical absorbance capacity(ORAC)
16. About Brunswick Labs - ORAC Certification
17. What are phytochemicals
18. Emerging World of Antioxidants
19. Antioxidants in Chocolate
20. Lee, KW, Kim, YJ, Lee, HJ, and Lee, CY. Cocoa Has More Phenolic Phytochemicals and a Higher Antioxidant Capacity than Teas and Red Wine. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2003;51:7292–7295.
21. Keen Carl L. Chocolate: Food as Medicine/Medicine as Food. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2001;20:436–439S.
22. Mary B. Engler, PhD, Marguerite M. Engler, PhD, Chung Y. Chen, PhD, Mary J. Malloy, MD, Amanda Browne, BS, Elisa Y. Chiu, BS, MS, Ho-Kyung Kwak, PhD, Paul Milbury, MS, Steven M. Paul, PhD, Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, FACN, Michele L. Mietus-Snyder, MD. Flavonoid-Rich Dark Chocolate Improves Endothelial Function and Increases Plasma Epicatechin Concentrations in Healthy Adults. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 3, 197–204 (2004)
23. Andreas J. Flammer, MD; Frank Hermann, MD; Isabella Sudano, MD, PhD; Lukas Spieker, MD; Matthias Hermann, MD; Karen A. Cooper, MSc, PhD; Mauro Serafini, PhD; Thomas F. Lüscher, MD; Frank Ruschitzka, MD; Georg Noll, MD; Roberto Corti, MD. Dark Chocolate Improves Coronary Vasomotion and Reduces Platelet Reactivity. Circulation 2007;116;2376-2382; originally published online Nov 5, 2007; Copyright © 2007 American Heart Association. All rights reserved. Print ISSN: 0009-7322. Online 72514.
24. Vlachopoulos , K . Aznaouridis , N . Alexopoulos , E . Economou , I . Andreadou , C . Stefanadis. Effect of Dark Chocolate on Arterial Function in Healthy Individuals .  American Journal of Hypertension , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , Pages 785 - 791 C .
25. Dr. Joe's E-News - A Diabetes Newsletter. Dr. Joe, Owner and Medical Director of Endocrine Metabolic Medical Center, writes this weekly e-newsletter about diabetes, its complications and related issues. Dark Chocolate - Consuming moderate amounts of dark chocolate can significantly reduce levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) as shown by an Italian study in the October 2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
26. World Cocoa Foundation
27. Daniel J. DeNoon. A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away. Daily Dark Chocolate Good for the Heart, Loaded With Flavonoids. WebMD Health News. March 12, 2009.
28. Anticariogenic Foods. The American Dental Hygienists' Association. 2009.
29. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Approved Statements: Chocolate milk and dental caries, 1992.
30. DePaola DP, Faine MP, Palmer CA: Nutrition in Relation to Dental Medicine. In: Shils ME, Olson JA, Shike M, Ross AC, eds: Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 9th ed. Baltimore, Md: Williams & Wilkens, 1999:1099-1124.