Coconut: The God of Oil

Never doubt the power of coconut oil. It is being quickly rediscovered to be among the healthiest oil we can make use of, period. It is the only oil we should use for cooking because it alone withstands the heat intact, it should be the only thing we use as a moisturizer or otherwise put on our skin and the taste is just plain delicious. There is nothing too great to be said of it. My ideal death would undoubtedly involve coconut oil.

So why is the stuff so emphatically hailed for it's gallantry in the world of oils and health? Personally, I feel it is because 76 degrees fahrenheit marks the divide between liquid and solid, making it easy to spread. But the real reason probably lies with it's medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). Most animal fats and vegetable and seed oils have long chain fatty acids (LCFA) which are difficult to digest, get stored as fat and are deposited in the arteries as cholesterol. MCFA's, on the other hand, are easy to digest, immediately sent to the liver and used as energy -- actually stimulating the body's metabolism.

One of the MCFA's is lauric acid. Lauric acid is found in large amounts in coconut oil. When consumed it is turned into monolaurin in the body -- a component widely studied and known for its tremendous effects on the immune system. The large amounts of these great fats and the near lack of omega 6 fats make it perfect for everyone. Coconut is one of the least allergenic plants on the planet.

To make a long story short, go buy coconut oil and spoon it into your mouth. It is one of the greats in terms of health benefits and should be used every day. It is great for aiding proper digestion. You can cook or steam vegetables with it for a great flavor boost. You can spread it on toast instead of butter. You can mix it into smoothies for extra energy and health. You can use it as a moisturizing lotion. You can do any number of things with it. I enjoy heating it into a liquid, pouring it in a scuba dry suit and pretending to be an astronaut. Love and respect, you know? That's what it's all about.

[coconut oil at Garden of Life's website]

[coconut oil at Nutiva's website]

[coconut oil at Mercola's website]

Eden Foods Organic Wild Berry Mix

You'd expect a bag full of nuts, seeds and dried fruit to be safe from the majority of deleterious options available to the food industry. But, as is often the case, we find these basic assumptions proven wrong time and time again. 

There are sulfites to preserve fruit colors, high fructose corn syrup to sweeten them, hydrogenated oils to preserve the nuts and a long list of other unhealthy ingredients which might show up in these mixes. That is why I am glad to have been introduced to the Organic Wild Berry Mix by Eden Foods. 

The mix contains almonds, pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, raisins, cranberries and wild blueberries. All the ingredients are organic and the fruit is stabilized with apple juice and sunflower oil -- both organic as well. The net result is a snack even the purist would be satisfied with. 

For those who haven't come around to saturated fats yet, only 12.5% of the total fat is saturated fat in a serving. For those who don't like unhealthy blood sugar spikes, there are 4 g of fiber and 1 g of sugar per serving. The package even lists the amounts of omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids in the nutrition facts -- a feature I wish more companies would include. The ratio between omega 3 and 6 is lacking in the former fat, but it isn't a problem unless your overall diet is lacking a proper balance as well.

[Eden foods website with info on Organic Wild Berry Mix]

Garden of Life Living Foods Organic Whole Food Bar

This is not a bar. I can't even fathom the magnitude of linguistic truncations necessary to imagine, even for a second, that Garden of Life's Organic Fruits of Life Whole Food Bar is anything as trivial as a bar. No, this must be something else entirely.

The combination of whole fruits, vegetables, sprouts, fermented seeds, unprocessed honey, extra virgin coconut oil and probiotics make it an excellently accessible source of nutrients and energy for the body. Ease of digestion is something Garden of Life takes seriously and has put a lot of effort into achieving. What has been achieved is more than I'm used to in a bar.

The Living Foods Organic Whole Food Bar is what it is. The name gives it away. "Living" signifies the live foods such as enzyme-rich honey and live active probiotics. "Organic" means all the ingredients are certified to be of a high standard and lacking pesticides, herbicides, GMO's and other contaminants. "Whole Food" can only mean the fruits, vegetables, sprouts and seeds are intact and not isolated or processed.

The bar comes in four versions: Chocolate Covered Greens Chocolate Raspberry, Whole Food Greens Red Raspberry, Whole Food Antioxidant Matrix Summer Berry and Super Seed Whole Food Fiber Apple Cinnamon. I tried the Antioxidant Matrix Summer Berry and found it both delicious and satisfying. It is dense and takes on the color, texture and smell of it's wonderful ingredients. This bar raises the bar for bars.

[information about the Living Foods Organic Whole Food Bar at the Garden of Life website]

Yogi Tea Detox

Detoxifying the body is probably one of the most important tools for living a healthy life. The things we eat, drink, breath, and come into contact with all have a tendency to accumulate over time in the body. The liver bears the brunt of the responsibility of cleaning up these accumulated toxins. But the fact is today we are exposed to an alarming amount of toxins. It is always good, therefore, to consider aiding the liver by detoxifying from time to time.

There are many ways to detoxify. The most effective would be a genuine fast subsisting on nothing but pure water for an extended period of time -- from a few days to a month or more. A juice fast is easier but less effective. Fasting works to detoxify the body because without having to constantly digest food it can work on other things like cleaning out all the toxins. 

Easier but less efficacious are the many "cleanses" on the market. These are multi-step systems that induce the body to let go of it's toxins and the digestive tract to oust them at variable levels of thoroughness. The most effective of these while being gentle as to not cause harm is Perfect Cleanse from Garden of Life which I will review in a week or so.

At the bottom end of the detoxification spectrum are the herbal teas. These teas are gentle and safe for regular use. They work by including all sorts of spices and herbs in the brew which are traditionally and scientifically-backed as proven cleansing ingredients. Yogi Tea Detox falls in this category and is one of my personal favorites. 

Part of the tea's lengthy ingredient list includes burdock, dandelion, indian sarsaparilla, juniper berry, cinnamon, ginger, licorice, and dandelion. These ingredients make for a full-flavored tea with a robust, spiced flavor. The combination of all the flavors from fruits to spices create a very relaxing herbal tea that works immediately to aid the body and mind in the process of detoxification.

[Yogi Tea's fanciful animation-laden website]

Organic Shelled Hempseeds From Nutiva

Hemp foods come in all shapes and sizes now. The super-nutritious seed of the plant is worked into bars, oils, shakes, and powders in an ever-growing list of clever variants. The raw material, however, must always remain plain hemp seeds. It is therefore of the utmost importance for hemp food companies to produce the highest quality seeds.

I recently received some Organic Shelled Hempseeds from Nutiva and the company produces a mighty good seed of hemp. The flavor is one that really grows on you. It is never objectionable, but the more one eats the more one appreciates the delicate, nutty flavor. It really does taste similar to pine nuts. That point was noted on a piece of literature I received with the Nutiva Hempseeds and made me immediate ponder the possibilities of a hemp seed pesto.

I must confess I have an obsession with pesto. It is my belief that the majority of the world's problems can, in fact, be solved by pesto. For instance, during the most recent Christmas season I was suffering from the cold. When I went outside my ears would go numb, my toes would feel uncomfortable, and my nose would run! So I devised a sophisticated goat cheese, cilantro, and extra garlic pesto to solve the problem. I am convinced of the efficacy of my endeavor as the sun has, indeed, been in the sky longer and longer each day, signifying the approach of warmer weather!

[Organic Shelled Hempseeds information at Nutiva's website]

Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar

From one of the oldest names in health food, Bragg's organic, raw, unfiltered, apple cider vinegar is perhaps the quintessential health food product in the purist's abode. It contains an orange liquid with strands of enzymes made of connected proteins from the fermentation process. These strands have become the mark of a quality apple cider vinegar and are known as the "mother."

Paul C. Bragg was the originator of health food stores, period. He was the man who started it all. He lectured, spread the word of healthy living, and advised Olympic athletes, Hollywood stars, and royalty. Paul C. Bragg died in 1976 from heart failure due to complications following a surfing accident when he was either 81 or 95 (he claimed he was born in 1881 while a census said he was born in 1895). Still, 81 and surfing isn't bad by any standards.

The qualities attributed to the product include these from the Bragg website:

INTERNAL BENEFITS:	EXTERNAL BENEFITS:
Rich in enzymes & potassium Naturally support a healthy immune system Helps control weight Promotes digestion & ph Balance Helps soothe dry throats Helps remove body sludge toxins	Helps maintain healthy skin Helps promote youthful, healthy bodies Soothes irritated skin Relieves muscle pain from exercise

I use Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar for a lot of things. I sometimes replace my shampoo with a bottle of Bragg's for a few days. It may take a while to get used to, but the smell is refreshing and it actually works quite well. My favorite use of the vinegar is mixing it with a lesser amount of olive oil, some minced garlic, and some herbs to produce a great healthy vinaigrette. 

[Apple Cider Vinegar info from the Bragg website]

The Health Food Nexus: The Curious Compatibility Between Health, Sustainability, and Social Justice

Have you ever wondered why health food stores attract both hippies and yuppies alike? People who don't even own shoes shop at health food stores. People who complain about gas prices buy milk for $8 a gallon. Business executives who could eat at a fine restaurant every day, hire a cook, or even hire someone to buy health food for them still shop at health food stores.

What mystical powers exist in the realm of health food to attract such an unlikely cohort of patrons to participate in the same activity? Why do organic, eco-friendly, and fair-trade labels share the same shelves? 

There is one underlying principle about health food that makes everyone happy. I call this principle the health food nexus.  This nexus is the connection between two or more people buying the same product for entirely different reasons. The features that make the product attractive for multiple reasons are interconnected. To illustrate the point I will use the example of several people who want to buy chocolate.

Emily walks towards the chocolate section, examines a chocolate bar for a while, reads the word "organic," and drops the bar in her basket. She is very health-conscious in her diet, and is aware of the dangers of pesticides found in conventional, non-organic chocolate which might sabotage her overall health. A little later John walks towards the same section, picks up a bar, reads the label "Fair Trade," and is persuaded to buy the chocolate. John previously spent a few years in the Peace Corps and has seen the positive effects of fair wages for people living in the "Third World." Finally, Tim strolls through the section, adjusts his hemp poncho, picks up a bar, reads the words "This product was produced using 100% renewable energy," and takes it to the cashier. Tim is an environmentalist who advocates alternative and reduced energy consumption. 

The interesting thing and the point I am trying to make is that they all bought the same chocolate bar. The company didn't go to any great lengths to achieve multiple selling points, either. 

The company is based in Brazil. It pays a local tribe fair wages to forage through the jungle for cocoa beans and sun-dry them. Then a few other simple ingredients are purchased from certified suppliers, and the bar is made by equally well paid chocolate makers. There is no commercial cocoa bean farm so there is no input energy needed for the cocoa beans (because the trees are scattered there isn't the problem of diseases spreading from tree to tree, and therefore no need for pesticides, etc.). Therefore the only energy needed in the production process is for the lighting and equipment which is bought from a wind farm. Because no chemicals or complex ingredients are needed or used, organic certification is effortless to acquire. 

Each bit of product information that persuaded the customers was actually related. Fair trade companies often employ people to produce food in the traditional way. This method is almost always more environmentally friendly than the conventional method, as well as very close to or at organic standards. 

Organic Hempseed Bar from Nutiva

 There have been so many of these things lately. They are dense, amorphous, sticky, and retain the shape of the packaging for only a short time after being removed. But, they are undeniably healthy -- and addictive. They are bars made out of seeds held together by honey. 

At times in the health food world both company and consumer become bogged down by the myriad of scientific studies, claims of mutually exclusive ideology, and personal interest. Let me give an example. Kelsey enjoys raw food. She sees Harry eating a pork chop and yells, "Hey, I read in a scientific journal that when food is cooked the enzymes are denatured and your body has a hard time digesting it!" Harry is quiet for a moment before regaining his composure and retorting with, "My acupuncturist told me my chi is running slowly and I can only eat cooked food because it is easier to digest!"

With these kinds of conflicting messages flooding the isles at every health food store how can a company reach the consumer with their product and the message it carries? Simplify. The fewer ingredients a product has, the louder the message becomes. This straight-forward approach has proliferated and is perhaps best illustrated by the seed and honey bars oozing over the shelves on hot days and breaking molars on cold ones.

As noted above, they are simply delicious. Nutiva sent me an Organic Hempseed Bar today and I have to say right now it is the best tasting "seed and honey" bar I have tried to date. The bar is made of honey and sunflower, hemp, flax and pumpkin seeds. The 5 organic ingredients blend together in good fashion. The 40g serving is composed of 14g fat, 5g fiber, 5g sugar, and 9g protein. Nutiva is quick to point out the lack of omega 3 and excess of omega 6 fats in most peoples' diets. Therefore a need for omega 3 is met with hemp and flax seeds serving as ideal sources.

The Health Food Purist notes the low amount of sugar in the bar and the equal amount of fiber which slows the sugar's digestion. Also noted is the healthy fat and superb levels of omega 3. The protein from the hemp and other seeds complete the simple bar wonderfully and alludes to the Organic Hempseed Bar being a perfect energy bar for athletics and outdoor activities.

[Organic Hempseed Bar information at Nutiva's website]

Perfect Meal by Garden of Life

I've been looking for insurance lately. I'm a tall, skinny, health-conscious guy, and I go to the gym everyday. Therefore, I have to take seriously the duty I have to my body to get enough nutrient-dense calories. Failure to fulfill this duty might mean death (6'2" and 155 pounds). So as an "insurance policy" I have incorporated a newly discovered "meal supplement" into my diet. 

Perfect Meal by Garden of Life is a powder one mixes with water and drinks about an hour before a meal to provide healthy, natural alleviation to food cravings and help the following meal from getting out of hand in regards to it's calories. It has 19 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat, 5 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and a full 6 mg of probiotics per serving. There are also ingredients to slow the carbohydrate digestion and keep blood sugar stable. 

At this point you're thinking, "this seems like a strange addition to the diet of a tall, skinny guy who burns more calories lifting the fork to his mouth than the food on the fork can provide." But, it actually works wonders in my case. At no point in my day do I really feel full. It is the strangest thing. Very rarely will I feel I have eaten enough. After eating 3 or 4 times the amount I see on other peoples' plates I know I am physically stuffed but I crave food nonetheless. 

Perfect Meal is loaded with protein and fiber which fill me up right. So, at each meal of the day I still eat a comically large amount of food, and between meals I drink a glass of water with 2 scoops of Perfect Meal. In this way I am actually increasing my total caloric intake for the day. The protein is from native whey which means undenatured, non-isolated, minimally processed, bioactive and natural. The sweetness comes from xylitol which is a sugar-alcohol and doesn't spike blood sugar levels. The Health Food Purists' demands are met.

Of course for most people the drink would cut appetite quite a bit. It is, after all, designed to do so. I think it's ironic I'm using a meal supplement designed to "reduce hunger and help manage food cravings" to help me gain weight. All the ingredients are great quality and add a lot to my overall health as well as help me feel full. As with all Garden of Life products I have a significant level of respect and trust in it. Garden of Life fits the label "purist" more than most companies I can think of. 

[the Garden of Life Perfect Meal website]

Annie Chun's Sushi Wraps

When I reflect at just how far we have come as a society I am amazed. It used to be, even in my lifetime, that when the word "sushi" was mentioned people would think of raw fish and be revolted. In the states we have taken food aesthetics and processing a bit too far. Indeed, if something wasn't sterilized and reformed into a consistent, uniform commodity, well then, it was just too dangerous to eat.

But, now-a-days we find the word "sushi" topping the list of the most popular and chic foods to eat. Recently I found Annie Chun's Sushi Wraps at the local health food store, and was delighted by how easily I can now enjoy sushi. 

The Sushi Wraps box comes complete with sticky rice, nori (seaweed wraps), and soy sauce. To make sushi just heat the rice, pad it into the nori strips, add a filling, and roll. I use my electric water pot to heat the rice, and avocados, cucumbers, peppers, and carrots serve as a filling. 

As a health food purist, I would ideally keep the grain out of my diet. But, as the amount of rice in sushi is quite small there isn't much of a problem. We can also take solace in the fact that the rice is gluten free so if the soy sauce is eliminated there are no longer any major allergens. Additionally, the problem of dangerous mercury levels in almost all tuna that might be used as a filling in the sushi doesn't present itself because I have no access to fresh fish anyway (I don't trust Wal-Mart enough to even consider the store as a source for my fish).

While there is no comparison to the stuff found at an authentic Japanese sushi bar, Annie Chun's Sushi Wraps are better than no sushi wraps at all. The product is easy to use and appreciated when living 1000 km from the nearest ocean. We have come far as a society, indeed.

[Annie Chun's Asian Food Sushi Wraps]

Purity Farms Ghee

Nothing ever has, nor ever will sound as appealing to me as pure fat. I consume it in an ever expanding assortment of shapes, colors, flavors, and forms. You might call me a fat connoisseur. I regularly consume coconut oil, cod liver oil, olive oil, butter, and now ghee in large amounts (among others).

Ghee can be thought of as the gold of the fat world. It truly belongs to a higher, more valuable order than other fats. The analogy also works, though, because it simply has a rich golden color, particularly noticeable when in liquid form. 

Widely used and highly valued in India, ghee is a practical way to preserve butter as it won't spoil at room temperature. Ghee is made by heating butter to remove the fat solids, producing the golden and flavorful clarified form of butter.

Recently I have been eating Purity Farms Ghee. The product from Purity Farms is made from the milk of organically razed and grazed cows. There is no transfatty acids or oxidized cholesterol. Additionally it is lactose, casein, and salt free. 

I've found myself having to ration the stuff, because otherwise it would be gone in a few days. For breakfast I use a mixture of half coconut oil, half ghee to coat the pan for making eggs. This is usually accompanied by a piece of toast with a hearty coating of ghee. It also adds a great flavor to vegetables in a stir-fry dish. 

[Purity Farms website]

BBC Article Hits the Bulls-eye

In a Viewpoint article on the BBC website, Graham Harvey outlines how conventional farming methods make no sense at all. On the pasture formerly occupied by grazing cattle, grain is grown and subsequently fed to the cattle who would've simply fed on the pasture the farm replaced. Healthy animals feeding from a diverse mix of grasses, clovers, flowers, and herbs--their natural diet--have been replaced by sickly, hormone and antibiotic injected, grain-fed commodities. Both the quality of meat and the quality of the environment suffer dramatically. 

"Research has shown that, in contrast to most supermarket meat, this beef contains more anti-oxidants including vitamin E, more iron and other minerals, more omega-3 fatty acids and more of the powerful anti-cancer compound known as conjugated linoleic acid."

Rationally, there should be no argument over which farming method to use. Grass-fed beef is being shown in studies to be much healthier. The pastures don't even require input energy. The grasses of the Great Plains in the US supported 50 million bison. Today the grasslands are now farmlands pumped full of chemicals and fertilizers to grow grain and soy to feed similar numbers of cattle. It used to make sense and it still makes sense, so what happened to traditional farming?

"It has been destroyed by political measures to promote worldwide grain production. For more than 30 years, governments in the US and the EU have poured subsidies into the production of wheat and other grains. They have maintained a permanent global grain surplus that has made the production of healthy, grass-fed beef uneconomic."

Harvey points out current government subsidies on biofuels are raising grain prices. Conventional farming methods can only out-compete traditional methods with cheap, subsidized grain, which means there may be a return to pasture grazing in the near future. If farming were "to return to its roots," ceteris paribus, both public health and the environment would profit.

[original article from the BBC news website]

Numi Green Rooibos Herb Tea

My new favorite herbal tea is green Rooibos (usually pronounced "roy boss"). It has no caffeine, more antioxidant activity than green tea, and won't turn bitter. 

For years I have enjoyed normal African "Red Tea" for its unique, woody flavor and health benefits. Most of the brands I have used varied little in flavor. Numi Green Rooibos, however, is different because it is green, not red, owing to the fact that it is not sun dried like regular Rooibos. Also, bit of Honeybush is included for a sweet accent.

The high quality, flavorful, organic, and healthy herbal tea from Numi is best enjoyed in a quiet atmosphere. I have a cup with a book in the afternoon more often than not. On a cold day it is a real comfort.

[Green Rooibos information from Numi]

Purists in a Diverse World

Most people don't bend to the will of a rigid ideology when browsing the isles at the local grocery store. Most people simply feel hungry, and pick the brightest box, or pick the brightest box and find they have become hungry. Others, however, won't buy something unless it's over $10, certified organic by 7 independent organizations, and has required the chants of a shaman to leave it's native soil.

The world of health food is complex, to say the least. In health, as in other matters, when a person decides one way is the only way and therefore the right way, problems arise. Room is not left for alternatives. The world of health food cannot be defined in such a concrete way that enables one way of thinking to hold true universally. As aforementioned, it is a diverse and complex world.

How does this aid us in making sense of health food philosophies? We are left with the knowledge that the world is big enough for multiple ways of thinking, and these ways of thinking are not mutually exclusive. Said differently, the world of health is not a zero sum game. Everyone is different, and different people respond to the same food differently. The beauty of this truism is in it's implication: the vegan farmer and the inuit hunter can both be right. As long as neither one tries to force the other to live differently, both live good lives and respect the other's life.

I will eventually devise a simple way to view, understand, and interpret the many different philosophies in health food. Each attempt to draft a clever system has failed miserably. For now, let's be thankful we have the luxury of being able to choose what food we eat in the first place.

Carlson's Cod Liver Oil

Although it may be upsetting, I am not ashamed to say I take a swig of cod liver oil after each meal. Of course it isn't your average cod liver oil, it is Carlson's Cod Liver Oil with lemon. The lemon may not make the thought or palatability easier to handle, but it does hint at a level of quality one wishes to have when one kicks back a dense oil that causes intermittent belching, reminding you of your fishy deed several hours after the fact. 

Recalling the very moment I fell in love with the stuff, it almost seems too simple. One day back home in my local health food store I was going down the shelves reading all the labels. Why? Why not. Just as I picked up a green glass bottle of Carlson's a man walked by me and said, "That is the best stuff, right there." After that I bought a bottle and was sound in my trust of his advice. I don't know if it was the direct bluntness of his statement or the fact that he looked uncannily similar to Matthew McConaughey. Whatever the case, I am glad events unfolded as they have.

This isn't to say the green glass bottle that smelled strange when opened could have been poison. No, I was browsing the shelves with knowledge that all the products were omega 3 supplements, and the man's sincerity caused my curiosity. Looking into the subject I learned about a problem with most diets: a lack of omega 3 essential fatty acids (essential because our bodies do not produce them). It is truly amazing what health benefits can be attributed to omega 3 EFAs. A very quick google search finds a deficiency can mean depression, weight gain, heart disease, allergies, arthritis, cancer, and diabetes to name a few. The FDA even confides in its ability to substantially help heart health. 

I realized my diet did not include enough omega 3 fats. The only source was the occasional salmon steak and perhaps flax seeds. Even these combined did not give me enough omega 3's because they were not consumed regularly. But regardless, most fish is now contaminated with mercury and other toxins, and flax oil does not provide any DHA--which is needed for the brain to function properly. Only 1% of the omega 3 in flax oil converts into DHA so it isn't really a viable source for proper amounts of DHA. The same is true with green leafy vegetables and certain nuts and seeds; plentiful in omega 3 but still lacking in DHA.

Enter Carlson's Cod Liver Oil. This product is great for every day consumption to maintain healthy levels of omega 3's and DHA. It is a good source of vitamin A and D, and D is especially needed when one doesn't get enough direct sun exposure which causes it's production in the skin. It also contains a touch of vitamin E, protecting it from becoming rancid before it can be digested.

[Carlson Laboratories Cod Liver Oil information]

Cocoa Cassava Bar from Mercola Advanced Nutrition

ALWAYS  in the mood for chocolate, this nutritious bar hit the spot. The folks at mercola.com sent me one a few days ago to try out, and I was quite impressed.

Let me first point out the impossibility of finding an energy/nutrition bar that actually provides energy and nutrition. When I go to Wal-Mart and browse the isles of synthetically concocted, mechanically processed, and laboratory derived muscle, energy, and meal-replacement bars I am usually taken aback by the wonderful claims so boldly pasted on the packaging. 

But, it only takes a moment to completely dispel the outrageous claims. Look for one product containing natural, healthy ingredients and lacking in the bad stuff. Just try it. Put one of every bar at the store with at least some redeeming, healthy looking ingredients in your basket. Now subtract the bars with common allergens: soy, peanuts, gluten, and casein. Let us get even pickier. Honestly, we are looking for healthy food here so take out the MSG, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and sugar. After this last step we are left with an empty basket.

Dr. Mercola realized, as we just have, there are no healthy options for a quick bit of energy on the go in one convenient, good tasting bar. So he made his own. I am often accused of being an obsessive label-reader and picky about my food choices, but I must bow in homage to Dr. Mercola's attention to detail in formulating this product. It has grass-fed, raw dairy whey protein, coconut oil, and chia seeds. The bulk is made of non-allergenic cassava flour, and it is primarily sweetened with blood-sugar neutral xylitol (a sugar alcohol). The flavor and namesake comes from dark chocolate chips and dutched cocoa, giving it a delicious taste.

This is a product I would keep in stock for when there isn't time or opportunity to prepare a decent meal, when I am away from a kitchen as on hikes or trips, and between meals when my energy dwindles.

[nutrition information and ingredients from Mercola's website]