XOCAI DARK CHOCOLATE--MIRACLE SUPERFOOD?

With so much hype in the world, so many false claims, so many expectations pumped up and then suddenly deflated, I have been reluctant to say much about the health benefits of this dark chocolate, XOCAI, I've found myself involved in talking about and marketing.

But when people you know tell you about their results and the results of people they know, it is hard to resist the possibility that this stuff may just be the healthiest health food ever to emerge, or should I say "re-emerge", since in its purest unheated, unprocessed form, it has to be pretty close to the stuff the Aztecs and Mayans worshipped in sacred ceremonies and only allowed their rulers to have.

I guess in terms of marketing, we're lucky it tastes so fantastic and that so many people love dark chocolate and want it just on those terms. We talk about it having this potent antioxidant content, where three of these small X Power dark chocolate squares are equal to almost two pounds of raw spinach, but it is still hard to imagine something that tastes so good is so good for us, until the stories start coming in. Like this one that was sent to my new friend Juliana, who
sponsored Hope, who sponsored my dear friend Susannah, who sponsored me. It's from an associate priest in the
Santa Fe Catholic church, Carol Calvert:

"Here is my testimonial so far:

I have been on the Xocai faithfully since 9/21. When I began my blood pressure was fairly high, often above 155 over 107. The other day it was 126 over 78, which to me was thrilling.. Other things I have personally noticed which are very interesting....mood elevation, more consistent energy, very rarely am I plagued with hot flashes, which BC (before chocolate) were a big annoyance, and a very interesting pain relieving quality. I woke up one night with a sore throat and had a square, it helped significantly. Yesterday morning, I had severe back pain, lower right radiating to the front, which was reminiscent of kidney stone type pain. I was waiting for a friend to come out of getting a colonoscopy so could not leave. I took a square and to my delight within a short time the pain subsided....It returned in the afternoon, and I took another square...the pain left again. A few hours later it returned and again I chased it away with chocolate!
Love,
CC"

In an earlier posting, I talked about taking lots of ephedra for weight loss and energy, back in the early 1990s, when it was legal and thought safe. And how it led to the behavior that got me sentenced to 12 years in prison. What I didn't mention was that it may also have had something to do with my diagnosis in prison of atrial fibrillation, which necessitated my being put on several medications. These include the very potent blood-thinning drug Warfarin. I once asked a prison doctor what would happen if I didn't take it. He said I could suddenly "stroke out." So I've been pretty faithfully taking my 5 milligrams a day.
Well, earlier this week, I went for my monthly blood test, and my doctor, Julia Yin Yin Myint (really! She's from Burma and seems very competent.) contacted me to let me know she wanted me to cut down on my Warfarin, down to 4 milligrams
a day. The test showed a positive change. I asked if increased antioxidant consumption could affect this, and her answer was that I should make sure I am taking consistant amounts of whatever I am taking. She had read some of the literature on dark chocolate and on the Acai berry. So now I am being a little more conscious of how much chocolate I am eating every day, wanting to keep it as consistant as possible. Perhaps this is just a small result compared to some of the ones others have reported, but its a beginning. And exciting to me, because I've wanted to get off Warfarin ever since I saw an episode of CSI where it was used to kill the victim.

And by the way, the example is often given that three small squares of the XOCAI X Power chocolate is equal in its
ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) rating to almost two pounds of raw spinach. No one is suggesting that we stop eating spinach. Frankly, I love the stuff and have since childhood, when my mother cooked it with sliced hard-boiled eggs.
One of my all-time favorites! I couldn't understand, watching the Popeye cartoons, why his friend, Wimpy, preferred hamburger (which I didn't like as a kid) to spinach, Popeye's miracle food. My longtime friend, Susannah, and new friend, Hope, both living in Sante Fe, actually went to the store and bought two pounds of raw spinach to take pictures of for
Hopes blog (check it out, lots of neat information at: www.darkchocolatebenefits.net) and it's a lot of spinach, eight full plates' worth. But I must admit when I saw it on the blog, all I could think of was how much I'd enjoy some cooked up with hard-boiled eggs! Though eight plates might be a bit much every day even for a spinach lover like me. And it cost Hope and Susannah over twelve dollars compared to $2.65 for the three X Power Squares.

Anyway, I don't know how much I'm going to talk to people about the health benefits. The literature is out there, and lots more will be coming out, especially when the University of Utah researchers finish their XOCAI-specific study. And I wouldn't want to build up hopes and expectations for people with serious medical problems, like high blood pressure and diabetes
(though diabetics love the fact this dark chocolate is safe for them to eat). My approach to people who have medical issues and want to try this new health food is to just start eating it on a regular basis and see what happens. Meanwhile, enjoy the taste, the sheer non-guilt-ridden joy of it.

And speaking of guilt, the most recent cartoon I wrote the caption for that was drawn by Ed Blais and sold to The Sun shows a judge speaking to a defendant at his trial: "I'm sorry, I can't accept a plea of Not-So-Guilty."

And if you want to check out the taste for yourself and explore not only the joy, but the income possibilities, do get
in touch with me as I build my healthy dark chocolate prosperity team. jerrygillies@gmail.com
Jerry Gillies