Cacao: Nature's Supreme Antioxidant Source

ICT ORAC6: A Seal of Superior Quality

The astounding ORAC6 scores for Beyond Healthy Chocolate various products come from ICT, an independent, third-party analytical laboratory that provides analytical services for some of the world's finest research institutions, corporations, and public organizations. Beyond Healthy Chocolate is now enrolled in the ICT Certified Program, an authoritative quality-assurance system that issues certification to products that have met strict criteria for some of their most popular ORAC6 tests. The program is designed to help consumers cut through the confusion surrounding ORAC6 scores and antioxidant values, as well as to discern which products make questionable claims regarding their antioxidant values.

"The ICT Certification Program ensures that Beyond Healthy Chocolate products are tested and meet specific criteria several times each year. This seal will appear on all Beyond Healthy Chocolate product packaging for complete customer confidence."

Can chocolate truly be healthy?

YES! Let's explain why:

Everyone has heard of free radicals. It's well known that these rogue molecules damage healthy cells, which in turn results in unhealthy tissues, organs and eventually, an unhealthy body.

Fortunately, cacao, the nutritional source of Dark Chocolate, is nature's top source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are nutrients that neutralize free radicals and slow their damage.

-among the most important observations in the history of medicine "How important does that make [cacao antioxidants]? I would say very important."

-Harvard physician and researcher Norman Hollenberg, MD, regarding the benefits of cacao's antioxidants. Among cacao's most impressive phytonutrients are several types of polyphenols, largely recognized as some of the most powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds known today. The most powerful and prominent polyphenols in cacao are flavanols.

Hundreds of studies have found that flavanols possess distinct and powerful properties, including the ability to:

1. Minimize inflammation throughout the body
2. Slow free radicals
3. Protect the heart and blood vessels
4. Support the immune system
5. Promote antibacterial/antiviral activity in the body
6. Relax and dilate blood vessels
7. Modify blood sugar levels
8. Protect the brain
9. Preserve cellular integrity
10. Protect and repair the liver
11. Positively modify hormone activity
12. ...and much more!

Did you know if you're like the average person, you eat about 12 pounds of chocolate per year? The problem with that is that most people are eating the "regular" unhealthy chocolate that has been stripped of its antioxidants and other vital nutrients.

That's what makes Well-Beyond Healthy Chocolate so different and so healthy!

So why are most chocolate products not really "healthy"? Primarily because of the way their content is processed. Traditional processing means that the chocolate is heated, alkalized and combined with artificial and unhealthy ingredients, all of which destroys the cacao's powerful antioxidants and degrades it's nutritional content.

What's Wrong With "Normal" Chocolate?

1. Alkalizing (also called "dutching") neutralizes its antioxidants
2. Heating further destroys its antioxidants and other vital nutrients
3. Addition of waxes, milk solids, hydrogenated oils and sugar further degrade the antioxidant firepower of cacao

Why is Beyond, Healthy Chocolate® Different?

1. Proprietary cold-processing preserves antioxidants and other crucial nutrients
2. Does not alkalize its chocolate
3. Uses only natural cacao butter, sweeteners and other natural ingredients
4. Contains no artificial ingredients
5. Category creator and leader of healthy chocolate industry