The following is an overview of the 3 chocolates I'm currently aware of that are sold through network marketing. For a brief time, I did distribute for Tru Chocolate based on having done the research for this site. I no longer distribute for any of these, so you can be sure that I'm not trying to sway you on the purchase of any.
The review below is in regards to the health qualities of the chocolates. Here are my subjective comments, however. First, I stopped distributing for Tru Chocolate because it was supposed to be a fun side-business. But I found that too many people disliked the flavor of the xylitol, so I had a hard time building a team. Most people I know who have tried Xocai have liked the taste.
Xocai is also the only chocolate company, as far as I know, that has invested in clinical trials to show the health benefits of their chocolate. I imagine that any truly healthy chocolate would show benefits in such trials, but I do think Xocai is positioned to be the best business opportunity among these. On the other hand, I also think the business model has you spending too much money each month on chocolate, and that the chocolate is overpriced for what it is.
Each of these chocolates is also reviewed on its own, as I'll also do with store-sold dark chocolates that I consider healthy enough to review. (Gnosis Chocolate is my current favorite, though I imagine there are some other raw chocolates worth reviewing as well.)
The three brands reviewed on this page are Xocai(TM); IsaDelight(TM); and Tru Chocolate(TM). (In the case of Xocai, I only refer to their Nuggets and Power Squares. I would personally avoid their other products, based on the ingredient lists.)
HEALTH REVIEW
Elements of Cacao as Primary Ingredients
Xocai Nuggets say exactly how much "cocoa" (properly, "elements of cacao") is in the chocolate, and in this case it's 70%.
IsaDelight claims to have "more than 70% non-alkalized cocoa powder" in some of their marketing materials, but I believe they're also referring to all cocoa content, since they use no separated cocoa powder. (They use chocolate liquor and cocoa butter.) I'm confused by this claim, since 35% of the product appears to be sugar, and that gives us more than 100%.
Xocai Power Squares don't list their cocoa content.
Based on the label alone, it looks like Tru Chocolate only has around 50% cacao content because the sugar alcohol (xylitol) accounts for 3.5 of the 8 grams per serving. Leaving a little room for the proprietary blend, this suggests around 50% is actually cacao.
Even more important, the antioxidant value of cocoa comes from the solids rather than the butter. The more solids, the more antioxidants per gram of chocolate -- which means you can eat LESS (less fat, fewer calories) and still benefit well in terms of health. The stated amount of cacao or cocoa doesn't tell you the percentage of solids, so ideally you'll want an ORAC score on the chocolate to help determine the benefits. (See below.)
Also, the more cocoa solids in the overall cocoa content, the less BUTTER, which is the fat portion of chocolate. Cocoa butter is a healthy, natural fat, which may actually contribute to healthy weight loss. I'm still researching to see if this kind of fat will have this effect. Of course some people believe in low-fat diets for weight loss, so they may consider that less cocoa better is better.
Considering only the ORAC scores per ounce, it would seem that Xocai Power Squares hold the title for the highest cocoa solid content. But they are so loaded with sugar and fat (which would mean more cocoa butter), I don't know how they would pack in enough cocoa solids. So admittedly, it's hard to make any conclusion based on the labels.
Tru Chocolate is the LOWEST in terms of fat, and has a higher ORAC rating per gram than Xocai Nuggets, so it may have a relatively high amount of cocoa solids (although these are in their natural setting of cocoa liquor; they do not have any separated cocoa solids).
Processing
The PRIMARY benefit of Xocai over the other two chocolates is that they appear to be the only company using a low-heat process for preparing their chocolate, which helps to keep the enzymes and other nutrients intact within the cocoa. Theirs is NOT a fully raw chocolate like Gnosis Chocolate is, but this is an important element to be aware of, and is weighted heavily in my chocolate ratings on the individual review pages.
Organic
Most of the MLM chocolates on the market are NOT organic. This means that any health benefits from the cacao may be compromised by pesticides or other toxins. This means that part of the ORAC rating in non-organic chocolate could go towards fighting problems in the body caused by these issues, so the effective ORAC rating (what actually helps your body) may be diminished. (See ORAC scores below.)
Xocai does claim to get its chocolate from a pristine area that doesn't use pesticides. And in fact, "organic" cannot control whether crops are affected by acid rain, contaminated ground water, blow-over from other farms, etc. So "organic" is not a GUARANTEE of the best crop. But it does give a cushion of comfort that I prefer when I can't verify where other crops are coming from.
Also, almost every chocolate on the market (MLM or otherwise) contains lecithin, and this is usually derived from soy. Soy can be a highly toxic product, and is one of the most genetically modified crops (GMOs) out there. If you're not getting organic lecithin, you're very likely getting a genetically modified and toxic version. You may hear a lot of debate about whether or not GMOs are a problem, but that's because there's a LOT of money into promoting them. If you research this, there is little question about the dangers of GMOs.
Of the MLM chocolates reviewed, Tru Chocolate is the only brand using organic cacao and lecithin ingredients.
I should mention that the world's best chocolates do NOT use lecithin, as this is a short-cut for providing a certain texture. In my mind, this is the ideal. But all the MLM chocolates do.
Xylitol vs. Sugar
Most of the healthy chocolates on the market use sugar to sweeten their chocolate. (This includes Xocai and IsaDelight.) This is absurd, because sugar does nothing good for the body, and contributes to a long list of health problems. Many of these chocolates are touted for their use in balancing blood sugar and in helping with weight loss -- yet the chocolates are 25-39% SUGAR. (Other chocolates, not reviewed here, may have more than 50% sugar content.) The nature of the cacao in chocolate might help to even this out, but it will NOT do all the good that it could do if you didn't have the sugar.
Xocai promotes the fact that they use "raw cane juice crystals," which is fructose rather than sucrose (which IsaDelight appears to use). This is much better for dieters and diabetics than sucrose, because it is far lower on the glycemic index; but it's far higher than xylitol.
Tru Chocolate adds NO SUGAR, opting instead for the more expensive but highly beneficial xylitol. With a super-low glycemic index rating of just 7, xylitol may help to balance blood sugar (good for both diabetes and weight loss), can promote tooth health through its anti-bacterial nature, and much more.
I should add that SOME people have digestive problems with sugar alcohols. Some of these sugar alcohols can really cause problems. I've not seen many people affected by xylitol, nor do its effects seem very potent. I think it's health benefits are really worthwhile, and this is a very small issue compared to what sugar does in the body. The real question is how you experience the taste.
Proprietary Formulas
Many healthy chocolates add something extra to their chocolate to help market it, and the three reviewed here are no exception. So the question we have to ask is how much these ingredients are just hype, and how much they actually help.
I cannot provide an accurate answer on that for any product, partly because we don't know the amounts of each ingredient, but they are probably quite small. Plus, all of these ingredients are out of their natural setting. I believe different people will respond differently.
But I can summarize what these formulas are SUPPOSED to help achieve in each product:
Xocai adds acai and blueberry powders to their chocolate, apparently to mainly enhance their ORAC scores. This is strange in one way, because cacao is supposed to boast the highest ORAC score of any food I know. So this would effectively LOWER the overall ORAC score (but to a small degree, because these are minor ingredients). Of course botanicals like these can offer various health benefits as well, and may provide a greater variety of antioxidants, which can be useful.
IsaDelight adds an amino acid complex that seems to be aimed at boosting the "feel good" qualities of chocolate. (They call their product "The Happy Chocolates that Satisfy.") Here, I'll mention my major issue with IsaDelight -- they promote their chocolates with the idea that they represent a good "cheat" during diets; it's supposed to satisfy the emotional addiction to food. This fails to address the emotional addiction, which means any short-term success would likely be followed once more by weight gain. And what's more, you shouldn't be "cheating" on your diet. With Tru Chocolate, you wouldn't be cheating, but helping your diet because of the "xylitol vs. sugar" issue.
Tru Chocolate adds an herbal blend aimed at enhancing the sweetness of the chocolate and making the flavor last (see below), in addition to stimulating metabolism and nutrient use in the body. This is good news for those who like the flavor of Tru Chocolate, and not for those who don't.
Long Lasting!
It's worth mentioning that Tru Chocolate uses two patented food extracts that make it a truly UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. First of all, when you eat a piece of Tru Chocolate, the immediate experience is potent not only because of the chocolate, but because one of these ingredients enhances the flavor on the tongue.
Then comes the really interesting part: after eating the chocolate, it's ideal to follow it with a big glass of water. This helps with weight loss efforts and -- because water is essential in every body process -- is healthy regardless of weight loss efforts. And when you drink the water, get ready for a surprise: the water is likely to taste SWEET (some say like chocolate) for up to 30 minutes after the chocolate is gone!
Of course as I mentioned above, this is a GREAT THING ... if you like the taste of Tru Chocolate. It will make the chocolate experience last longer and give you "more bang for your buck" (which is important with the expense of any of these chocolates). But for those who don't care for the xylitol taste of Tru Chocolate, this may be a downside to the chocolate.
Value
Any MLM chocolate will be more expensive than most retail chocolates. Partly this is because of the nature of MLM and its income opportunity. Having said that, when you start spending on chocolate as a SUPPLEMENT rather than as a candy, you'll find that the best chocolates actually cost about as much as (or even more than!) MLM chocolate. So it's important to know what you're trying to invest in: a treat, or a health supplement.
If you're going to spend money on chocolate as a treat (i.e., sugary chocolate), then I recommend buying retail chocolate. It's usually less expensive than MLM chocolate and, if you choose one with a lot of cocoa content, then you'll keep sugar levels low and experience more dark chocolate benefits. Ideally, go for a chocolate with as much cacao as you can handle -- 70% or more. I've seen them go to more than 90% cacao. This minimizes the sugar.
If you're going to spend money on chocolate as a health supplement ... well, I used to think that Tru Chocolate was the only legitimate MLM chocolate option because of the sugar issue. But as I've come to understand the processing issue more, you may be able to justify Xocai as well.
Still, with something like Gnosis Chocolate (sold through retail), you'll get the highest nutritional value and can determine for yourself how much you'd like to spend on it each month (rather than facing monthly requirements for a business opportunity). Gram for gram, Gnosis costs more than Xocai and about the same as Tru Chocolate. But there's no monthly minimum to buy.
Finally, I think that Tru Chocolate provides an incredible value for those who enjoy it because of the "sweetened water" phenomenon discussed above. For your one piece of chocolate, you get a large sweet drink to go with it, just by following it with a glass of water.
Magnesium
Any quality dark chocolate should represent a good source of magnesium, so this isn't a KEY item to consider, but it's worth noting because magnesium plays so many important roles in our health, and most people only get 50% of the recommended amount.
A serving of Xocai Nuggets contains 20 mg of magnesium; (I'm not sure about their Power Squares); IsaDelight contains 32 mg; and Tru Chocolate contains 40 mg (or 10% of the recommended daily amount).
I should add a note here: last I knew, Tru Chocolate labels said they only had 4 mg of magnesium, but they also said they had 10% of the daily value. Well, 4 mg is only 1%. I believe they meant to say 40 mg, since 4 mg wouldn't make sense in dark chocolate. However, you can keep an eye on their label to see if new information comes up.
ORAC Scores
If you've read my page on ORAC scores, you know that this topic can be misleading. Experts recommend that we get up to 5000 ORAC units in a day, and that anything more may be redundant. Those promoting ORAC scores will probably argue against this.
At just over 3000 ORAC units, a serving of Tru Chocolate and Xocai Nuggets are just about identical; IsaDelight contains closer to 6000 units; and Xocai Power Squares contain over 10,000 per serving. (The extra ORAC units may be beneficial since these chocolates are not organic, as mentioned above.)
As you'll see in a moment, however, the amounts are partly due to the difference in serving sizes. (Specifics on ORAC ratings per ounce are on the individual review pages.)
Fat, Calories, and Sugar
A serving of Tru Chocolate is only 8 grams, while IsaDelight provides an 11.3 gram serving; Xocai Nuggets offer a 12 gram serving; and Xocai Power Squares offer an 18 gram serving.
Between ingredients and serving size, then, these three products offer substantially different amount of fat, calories, and sugar:
Xocai Nuggets
Fat: 4.5 grams (3 saturated); 70 calories; 25% sugar (fructose; 23 glycemic index).
Xocai Power Squares
Fat: 6 grams (5 saturated); 100 calories; 39% sugar (fructose; 23 glycemic index).
IsaDelight
Fat: 4 grams (2.5 saturated); 50 calories; 35% sugar (I believe sucrose; 65 glycemic index).
Tru Chocolate
Fat: 3 grams (0 saturated); 36 calories; NO ADDED SUGAR!
Note that there is sugar alcohol, which is called xylitol (7 glycemic index). But again, xylitol provides health benefits, rather than health problems as sugar does. There is also a tiny amount of natural sugar in cacao that may in fact make up 2-4% of a piece of Tru Chocolate. But this is not processed sugar that's been added to the chocolate, and would represent too small an amount to show up on the label.
BOTTOM LINE
I happen to think that MOST network marketing products are overpriced, although some opportunities are learning how to compete with retail. (I think MLM is legit, but that a lot of the models need to get more progressive.) In general, I think spending more than $100 per month on chocolate is too much, considering the caliber of other health products people could be buying for less.
(Chocolate can be healthy, but I consider things like non-denatured proteins, premium fibers, omega 3s, and vitamin D3 as some of the foundational things needed by the body, and all can be had for under $100/month. I believe these would have a greater impact on most people's health.)
Having said that, among the MLM chocolates reviewed here, I would personally avoid IsaDelight as well as many of Xocai's products. But the fact that Xocai minimally processes their basic chocolates means that this IS a good way of getting the health benefits of cacao; and they're well poised to be the king of health MLM chocolates at this time.
Tru Chocolate, however, offers xylitol in place of sugar and the comfort of "organic" labeling. It also gives the "sweet water" experience, so anyone who likes this chocolate may find that it's the best value in MLM chocolates.
I do know people who are losing weight now that they're eating Xocai and/or Tru Chocolate. In other words, both offer their testimonials. If chocolate is your passion and you don't mind spending more than $100/month on it, either of these could be a good fit for you.
