Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Eat Chocolate And Lose Weight?

By Brian McCoy

The words chocolate and weight loss don't usually coincide. However, with the benefits of healthy chocolate, the two can now coexist.

We have recently been hearing about the benefits of dark chocolate and what positive effects it can have on your body. While dark chocolate is healthy, the majority of the chocolate sold in stores today is very unhealthy. The reason for this is that these chocolates are chocked full of sugars, fats, and preservatives. None of which have any positive benefits to your overall health and wellness.

One of the biggest problems with many traditional chocolates is that the heating during the manufacturing of the product destroys the majority of the chocolate's healthy benefits. In fact, about 80% of the positive antioxidants are lost during this harmful process.

There is a company that has come out with an alternative to these unhealthy, poorly manufactured dark chocolates. Xocai is a division of MXI Corp. and is based in Reno, Nevada. They have brought to market an all natural, pure form of cacao that maintains its nutritional value through the manufacturing process. Rather than heat the cacao, it is cold pressed. This allows the dark chocolate to maintain its healthful properties.

Xocai has 6 products available to consumers: X Powerhouse Cookie, X Power Squares, Omega Bars, Activ, Protein Bar, and Nuggets. The product line is made with unprocessed cacao powder and then acai berry and blueberry is included to enhance the taste. All of the products are chocked full of positive health benefits such as antioxidants, flavonoids, elevated ORAC values, high fiber, and low glycemic index. The product line is acceptable for vegetarians, vegans, and diabetics.

So just how does any of this have an effect on weight loss? Several studies, including one recent study out of Japan, concluded that consumption of cocoa may fight weight gain. While there are several determining factors in this, a few of them are gene regulation and the potential mood elevating chemicals that cocoa contains. These positive chemicals have the added benefits of possibly helping one to feel more energetic, leading to increased exercise, and ultimately leading to weight loss.

It's true that there are several biochemical responses taking place, but on top of that you are also consuming a healthier, more organic form of chocolate. For example, if you ingest a form of healthy dark chocolate instead of a Milky Way bar, what would you think that the difference would be? Not only is the healthy dark chocolate low in sugar, fat, and calories, but it is also high in fiber, antioxidants, ORAC value, and flavonoids. This is a stark contrast to the unhealthy Milky Way bar.

An added benefit is that you don't have to give up taste either. The formulations that Xocai has put together for their line of healthy dark chocolate products has mass taste appeal. People are sharing their positive testimonials as to the fantastic results that they are seeing with the products. Because of this, I feel that it is beneficial for you and your family that you look into how the Xocai healthy chocolate can be good for you. - 15478

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