To be truthful, we don’t entirely know.  It’s not that we don’t have some theories, but proving why is a lot harder than observing a correlation.  Here are three theories that have been put out there.

Chocolate Satisfies That Sweet Craving

When you’re craving sweets, you have a lot of options that range from fruit to pure sugar.  If you’re like me, you head in the direction of sugar and your body stores all those calories away just in case.  Have you ever felt like the more sugar you eat, the more sugar you want?  Chocolate may stop this cycle, which means you’ll consume fewer calories and weigh less.

Chocolate Provides Needed Nutrients

When we’re missing nutrients in our diets, our bodies tell us to eat to get the vitamins and minerals we need.  Since junk food doesn’t have much in the way of nutrition, no matter how much we eat, our bodies are still going to tell us we’re missing something.  Once again, we consume calories we don’t need and our bodies just store them away.  Cocoa actually has a ton of nutrients, so the theory is that chocolate may be filling in the nutritional blanks and turning off the “eat more” message.  Less eating means less calories and less weight.

Chocolate Effects Our Genes

Researchers in Japan fed two groups of rats a high-fat diet, one with cocoa and one without cocoa.  The results found that the group consuming cocoa had significantly lower weight and body fat at the end.  When they looked closer, they found the cocoa group had genes that encourage the body to process and store fat turned off and genes involved in burning fat turned on.  If cocoa has the same effect in the human body, chocolate could really be helping our bodies lose weight, not just reducing our calorie consumption.

It’s always possible to have too much of a good thing.  If you binge on chocolate, not only will you probably make yourself sick, but you’ll gain weight.  On the other hand, if eating chocolate makes you feel satisfied with far fewer calories in your diet, or even changes how your body handles those calories, it may help you lose weight.  So, if you can keep it in moderation, you don’t have to be completely deprived of chocolate to lose weight.

Nobody wants to be alone.  When you join this business, you’re not.  If you sign up under me, we become a TEAM.  I am responsible for your success.  When you succeed, I succeed.  The new training materials released this weekend recognize this fact.

It’s called The Ascent Plan.  By working through this plan, you

• Figure out who is there to help you succeed
• Learn about the tools that can help you succeed
• Set goals for your success
• Work through how to talk about your business/product
• Learn how to train others to duplicate your success

I love that this new training is all inclusive.  The company got together with some of its best earners and asked the question, “What can we do to help even more people be successful?”  This plan is their answer.  People need to be trained.  People need to be supported.  People need to be trained how to support others.

Together Everyone Achieves More

I’ve heard it a million times, but never has it been more true.  When we work together as a TEAM, our business knows no limits.  I believe it and so does Xocai.

I have the most wonderful product in the world.  It’s helps people.  It changes people’s lives.  And it’s CHOCOLATE!  As if eating chocolate every day and calling it work wasn’t enough, I can make money by telling others about it.  I have an amazing TEAM and an amazing company.

If you would like join our TEAM, drop me a note on my contact page.  Just make sure you include your name, number and the best time to reach you. Welcome to our TEAM!

~Beth~

There are two issues to consider where chocolate is concerned.  First, theobromine is a readily found stimulant in both the cocoa bean and chocolate.  If you were to compare the chemical structures of theobromine and caffeine, it is obvious they are related. However, these two chemicals are very different and cause very different reactions in our bodies.  Theobromine is much more mild, slower acting and longer lasting as a stimulant when compared to caffeine.  The point: nobody is denying there is a stimulant in your chocolate.  What we are saying is that the energy you feel is from theobromine (and maybe sugar) and not necessarily from caffeine, which could be easily confused with theobromine as a chemical. 

Second, what part of the fruit is used to make your chocolate?  It actually makes a difference.  The cocoa bean itself doesn’t contain any caffeine.  However, cocoa beans are seeds found inside a pod (the fruit of the cocoa plant).  The seeds are inside a protective membrane, similar to how apple seeds are encased inside the core of an apple.  In the cocoa pod, this membrane contains caffeine.  When making cocoa powder, manufacturers must choose whether they are going to grind only the seeds (cocoa beans) or if they are also going to grind up the protective membrane.  Obviously, grinding up the membrane produces more powder per pod decreasing their cost to make chocolate; however, the cocoa powder is also of a lower quality and contains caffeine from the membrane.

Now, let’s look at Healthy Chocolate.  Xocai is sold through direct or referral marketing.  Like most products distributed in this manner, they are of very high quality because they depend on word of mouth and good reputation to sell their products.  A lower quality cocoa powder would not contain the same concentrations of antioxidants Xocai prides itself on, nor would it produce as high in quality product as their distributors and customers have come to expect.  Thus, Xocai does not grind the membrane into its cocoa powder, leaving Healthy Chocolate caffeine-free.

Hope that answers your question!

~Beth~