Health Supplements and Healthy Chocolate

 

Let's start out by talking about health supplements in general. Hopefully this will give you a good idea about how I think healthy chocolate fits into the bigger health picture. So first things first: are health supplements even worth taking, or are they just a big rip-off?

 

Answer: certain supplements are absolutely needed by everyone, but how many you need depends on your circumstances. Let's take a look at the different types of supplements and what you may or may not need.

Multi-Vitamin / Multi-Mineral

The fact is, you can eat the healthiest diet in the world -- full of raw vegetables and fruits for example -- and still need to supplement because our crops don't provide us with the vitamin and mineral content they once did. That's a fact. Now, some soils provide more nutrition in the crops than others; and local food will hold more of its nutrient value than those shipped long distances by the time we eat them. So you can't say exactly how much a specific crop is missing of any given nutrient. But because of the overall trend of nutrient depletion, a good multi-vitamineral is necessary on a daily basis.

I recommend avoiding those from your local drug store -- i.e., Centrum(R) or One a Day (R). These make use of synthetic nutrients and typically include binders and fillers. They can do more harm than good. Instead, get something from your local health food store. Or check out some of what we carry in our health center:

1) We carry food state supplements, which means that the nutrients are in as close a state to food as possible. As a result, the amount of nutrients on the label are lower than you'll usually see in a supplement, but the results can be quite good. In our testing, these seem to offer very good results. We don't list these supplements on our site, but you can talk to us directly about what we carry.

2) You might also look to an "all in one" supplement we carry called intraMAX. This is very popular and has clinical trials around it. We don't personally use this one, but sell a lot of it and have people come back month after month for it.

3) We have traditionally stuck with food state supplements, but are currently experimenting with a new multi that not only provides for basic vitamin and mineral needs, but does so using an exclusive approach to nanotechnology. What's more, the supplement is specfically designed to support the body's internal defense system (see under "antioxidants" below) by boosting the enzymes SOD (super oxide dismutase) and catalase, and also providing CoQ10. If you'd like to learn more, visit our health center site: Max N-Fuze

Antioxidants
Free radicals and antioxidants have gotten a lot of press in recent years, and with good reason. Our world is more toxic than ever before, and again, it doesn't matter how pure you're trying to be. Unless you live on a mountain top away from society, you're breathing toxins all day long; you're touching them most of the day; your body is under attack from electromagnetic smog; you're under the stress of a world that's moving more QUICKLY than ever in history; and much more.

We are DESIGNED to burn oxygen to live, and this creates oxidative stress. If this isn't neutralized, all sorts of problems occur in the body. Thus we were designed with what I call an "Internal Defense System." We're familiar with the systemic defense of the immune system; but I'm talking about the cellular defense comprised largely of glutathione, SOD, catalase, and CoQ10.

These elements provide the most potent free radical protection possible, because they're how we were designed to deal with oxidative stress. Thus, the antioxidant value of dark chocolate and any other food on earth is supportive of this system, but is really just an assistant to the inner system, which is thousands of times more powerful.

I mentioned 3 of these in a supplement above. Glutathione, which is the body's master antioxidant, is greatly increased with another supplement, and the two combined make up what I consider a basic supplement regimen for anyone looking for optimal health. You can learn about this product here: MaxGXL

Together, these products can represent not only your multi, but your total antioxidant protection in addition to those you get from food. It's fine to supplement with dark chocolate or acai berry, etc., on top of this. But when the budget comes calling, I would recommend these two before any of those extras.


Other Supplements
Additional nutrients could be needed, depending on your diet. We all need adequate intake of Omega-3s and Omega-6s, those most of us get too many 6s. Most of us need more 3s. We all need adequate levels of enzymes from living food. We might need probiotics to support the digestive process and immune system. But if you're eating enough raw foods, you might already be getting these.

So YOU CAN CONTROL how much you really need to spend on supplements, based on your diet. The better you eat, the less you need to supplement when aiming for optimal well-being. But I do think adequate vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant support is necessary for everyone through supplementation. 

 

How Healthy Chocolate Fits In

Keeping everything above in mind, chocolate is NOT the first thing you ought to invest in as a supplement. Yes, it has many wonderful nutrients in it, as do many foods. But I think investing a lot in it (as a lot of referral chocolates require) should come AFTER getting the basics down, as I've talked about.

Having said that, chocolate is perhaps the #1 feel good food on earth, so it's something a lot of us would like the EXCUSE to invest in. If you've got the money to do so, by all means! Of course I recommend Gnosis Chocolate as the healthiest, tastiest variety. And with Gnosis, you can spend as much or as little as you want in a month. But if you've got the cash to spend on any of the chocolates mentioned on this site or something you find in a health food store, go ahead and do so. There are some nice benefits to it, and it's a great way to get in dessert without sinking to the level of junk food!

Just make sure to read through this site first and see what constitutes healthy chocolate vs. "pretending to be healthy chocolate." Become a smart consumer and you'll invest your money well on chocolate that you enjoy and that provides some good nutrition for your body.

So let's move on to where chocolate begins: cacao.