Vitamin Information Center

Healthy Chocolate is not an oxymoron. It’s the name of a business that is generating interest and increased sales in Greater Lafayette.

Xocai Healthy Chocolate is sold by Tiffany Johnson and Dana Alsop through an in-home network marketing program.

Made with unprocessed cacao powder and combined with acai berry and blueberries, Xocai dark chocolate products include power squares, nuggets, cookies, an antioxidant beverage and protein bars.

“It’s all natural. There’s no wax, fillers or processed sugar in it. It’s diabetic friendly — a clean product,” Johnson said. “Three of our power squares are equal to 12 servings of vegetables.”

Dr. Cameron Mohr, owner of Mohr & Mohr Smiles, a dental office in West Lafayette, recommends healthy chocolate to his patients.

“A few benefits are … preventing dental decay, improving gum health, preventing numerous degenerative diseases such as cancer, suppresses appetite for healthy weight loss, lifts one’s mood to alleviate depression and even improves cardiovascular health,” Mohr said. “There is hard medical research confirming the health benefits of unprocessed cacao and dark chocolate.”

Probiotic squares are being launched this weekend by Xocai.

Attracting increased attention from the medical community, probiotics have been linked to improved overall health, normalized gastrointestinal function, improved immune activity and enhanced metabolism.
BUSINESS NAME

Xocai Healthy Chocolate
ABOUT THE BUSINESS

Johnson has openings for people interested in serving as distributors of Xocai Healthy Chocolate.

“We were the first in Lafayette to bring the products here,” Alsop said. “It’s new to the area.”
PHONE

(765) 414-0936

Lately I’ve been worried that the olives in my martini just aren’t enough. They’re kinda old-fashioned, after all, and the jar says nothing about polyphenols or flavonoids.

So where am I supposed to get the essentials, like antioxidants and anthocyanins, without sacrificing alcohol content?

Acai berries to the rescue, distilled by a marketing-savvy visionary into hard liquor. The alcoholic answer to green tea is launching in Dallas under the brand name VeeV on Feb. 22, with a campaign focused on the drink’s healthy ingredients. While not making any specific claims, they aren’t exactly shy either, reminding us that acai berries are “the world’s preeminent superfruit,” and that people can “enjoy themselves while doing some good at the same time.” (Isn’t this how we justified tequila shots before class during college? Um, so I’ve heard)

It’s tough to find any information on acai berries that doesn’t quickly devolve into a breathless recounting of their nutritional benefits (ZOMG! Acai berries contain 57 percent more antioxidants than pomegranates!) Even if the berries are, as Oprah puts it, “one of the most powerful foods in the world,” is there any reason to believe this liquor will confer health benefits on consumers?

Nutrients don’t survive the distillation process unscathed. But that’s OK. This is the land of health fads–someone tried the same tactic with quinoa vodka, too–and are we really prepared to argue with the all-knowing Oprah?

Xoçai Healthy Chocolate is being sold by Karen J. Rankin of Bedford through a direct-marketing sales approach. Made with unprocessed cacao powder and combined with açai berries and blueberries, the combination of these ingredients in their natural state provides a tasty product packed with powerful antioxidants.

The chocolate products include power squares, nuggets, cookies, an antioxidant beverage and protein bars.

Also, the company is selling Xobiotic Squares, which contain probiotics for intestinal health. The chocolates contain no caffeine, preservatives, fillers, waxes, processed sugar or trans fats.

Rankin points to 22 reasons why people should incorporate dark chocolate and açai into their health regimens, including that the chocolate is more nutritious, contains fiber, balances cholesterol, may aid in weight loss, scavenges free radicals, is full of antioxidants, fights pathogens, cleanses and detoxifies and boosts a person’s sense of well-being.

According to a company brochure, “Xoçai products are the perfect delivery system for the antioxidants your body needs while eliminating almost all of the fat and sugar typically found in other chocolate products.”

Rankin will sponsor “chocolate tastings” in Bedford for those interested in joining the business or buying the products. The first will be at 7 p.m. Friday at The Company Concourse, 14th and H streets, and the second is slated for 7 p.m. Monday at The Company Concourse.