Health Supplements and Healthy Chocolate

Let's start out by talking about health supplements in general. I think this will give you a good idea about how I operate (i.e., not out to make a quick buck from you) and how my healthy chocolate recommendation fits into the bigger health picture.

So first things first: are health supplements even worth taking, or are they just a big rip-off?

The answer to this depends, because some people eat very well, but most people don't. For the few who eat largely an organic diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts and -- depending on who you ask -- some healthy grains and meats, health supplements are perhaps not as important. In other words, if you're getting a wide variety of nutrients directly from your food, there's really no better option.

Having said that, there are many experts who agree that our soils are simply too depleted of nutrients for someone to rely on food alone for optimal nutrition. (They wouldn't suggest that supplements are a BETTER option than food, because food provides us with the optimal form of nutrients for use by the body. But they would suggest that you can't get enough nutrients this way because the food has become depleted.)

Regardless of this debate, very few of us fall into the category of eating a variety of healthy, organic foods on a regular basis. Many of us are eating packaged foods that lack enzymes and the optimal form of nutrients for our bodies. So unless we're willing to really change our lifestyles, then we'll look for the American "quick fix," and that means spending some money on supplements.

(The other option, of course, is not to get any nutrients into our bodies and then watch ourselves fall apart over time. Many people DO choose this option. I'm convinced that this is the fate of anyone who refuses to recognize the need for healthy nutrients.)

Do other factors, besides nutrition, come into play in terms of health? Absolutely. Stress, electromagnetic fields, negative thought patterns, geopathic stresses, poor sleep habits, poor exercise habits, and much more play into our overall state of health. We can focus on any of these areas and improve our health. But without the players needed to run the body (nutrients), nothing's going to function as it should. So supplementation is necessary for most people.

How Healthy Chocolate Fits In

So the next question is, if you're going to supplement, what is the best investment to make? To be honest, it's not healthy chocolate. And it's not any of the exotic fruits you hear about in the nutritional supplement industry. When you think about it, the first and most important investment to make is in the basic vitamins and minerals we're already familiar with; and because of our habit of eating cooked foods, enzymes can be very useful, as can probiotics.

There's a lot of hype about new and exotic supplements, and people forget about the basics. When this happens, I think their money is ill-spent. If you've covered the basics, however, and want to spend on additional supplements, then you can wisely opt for any with good nutritional evidence behind it. Chocolate happens to be a favorite with many people, and they'll spend money on it anyway. So this is where healthy chocolate fits in. If you happen to like exotic fruits more than chocolate, then you could take that route instead.

The main thing when investing in additional supplements (exotic fruits, chocolate, etc.), is to research enough to know what you're getting yourself into. If nothing else, research every ingredient in the supplement and you'll get a very good sense of its quality (or lack thereof!).

For instance, most of the "healthy chocolates" on the market today aren't really healthy at all, even if they boast a high ORAC score. So the purpose of this site, of course, is to handle all of the chocolate research for you, putting everything into your hands so that you can make an educate decision about what to buy.

So let's start learning about the factors that go into healthy chocolate. And let's start where chocolate starts: with cacao.