Health and Wellnes Product - 2008 Just Flew By!

Health and wellness products have come and gone throughout 2008 and we are again faced with health issues ...... the couple of pounds extra that were new at the beginning of the year now seem to be like old shoes ... just part of you and what about those little aches and pains?

Let's start looking seriously at our health and wellness issues and really do something about them. It is all up to you and the time to act is NOW!

Stay tuned for the truth about many of the latest products on the market when health and wellness products takes an unbiased view .... 2009!

Health and Wellness Product - I have a Question...

Health and Wellness Product wishes everyone a Happy New Year!

We have one question....did you gain a few extra pounds this holiday season? You aren't alone, most people did. The important thing is to take action now and not let those five extra pounds turn into ten.

A friend approached us with a new weight loss system from XOOMA and this will be the next product that Health and Wellness Product researches. The product is called MetaboWize and it states that it re-educates the body at the cellular level to curb cravings, stimulate the metabolism, reduce fat and create more energy 24/7.

You can listen to some of the testimonials by CLICKING HERE

Health and Wellness Product will continue to examine the MetaboWize weight loss system in the coming days and report our findings.

Please feel free to post your own thoughts and finds here on this blog for all to look at.

Health and Wellness Product looks at Xocai Activ Drink

Health and Wellness Product will now take a look at each individual product from Xocai. The first one is Activ....the chocolate beverage. It comes in an attractive plastic bottle and is sent to the consumer in a dehydrated state to make for easier shipping. It will last for one year in this state if stored in a cool, dry spot. You "activate" the product with warm bottled water.

Xoçai Activ™ combines the flavors of unprocessed cacao, açai berries, blueberries and concord grapes and as the company states "leaves you with a lasting, “dark-chocolate” taste". I have tasted it and it is delicious! Actually, I wanted to drink more than the recommended one ounce!

The product does contain Crystalline Fructose as a sweetener. We researched this product and found out that it has a low glycemic index and results in moderate release of insulin to the bloodstream relative to glucose and sucrose. So that while it affects blood sugar levels, it does it in a way that meets the special needs of people with diabetes.

The previous research we have done shows that cacao, acai berries and blueberries are all high in antioxidants. From this study we have concluded that Xocai Activ does indeed deliver what it promises......a healthy chocolate beverage.

Health and Wellness Product will take a look at the other Xocai products in the coming days. It is always important to do your due diligence on any health product before consuming.

Health and Wellness Product Continues to Examine Dark Chocolate

Health and Wellness Product has looked at the research coming out of Germany and the US and it seems that the flavonoid rich, dark chocolate may have an impact on high blood pressure, but what about the claims of lowering blood sugar levels?

There are over 20 million people with diabetes in the United States....that is a whopping 7% of the population! Could dark chocolate actually help lower blood sugar levels or even prevent diabetes?

This is an excerpt from a study in Japan:


3/21/2007 - Dietary supplementation with cacao liquor proanthocyanidins (CLPr) reduced blood glucose levels in obese diabetic mice, and may offer human diabetics significant benefits, says a new study from Japan.

"Dietary supplementation with CLPr can dose-dependently prevent the development of hyperglycaemia in diabetic obese mice," wrote lead author Makoto Tomaru in the journal Nutrition. "The dietary intake of food or drinks produced from cacao beans might be beneficial in preventing the onset of type-2 diabetes mellitus."

The potential health benefits of cocoa have been gaining increasing interest, with studies reporting that flavonoid-rich chocolate may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, according to Tomaru and co-workers, this is the first study to report that CLPr can prevent aggravation of type-2 diabetes mellitus.

The new study used three-week old female mice and randomly assigned them to eat the AIN-93 diet supplemented with 0, 0.5, or 1.0 per cent for cacao liquor proanthocyanidins (72 per cent total polyphenols) for three weeks.

At the end of the study the researchers report that the proanthocyanidins reduced blood glucose levels in a dose-dependent manner. Indeed, blood glucose levels after four and five weeks of age, and of fructosamine at six weeks of age were significantly lower than in those fed 0 per cent CLPr AIN-93 diet.

Body weights and food consumption did not differ significantly among the groups, said the researchers.

"In this study, the decreased levels of blood glucose may be involved in improvement of insulin resistance by antioxidative effects of CLPr," they said.

The one per cent dose used in this study would be equivalent to a daily polyphenol intake of five grams for a human, said Tomaru, or about 2.5 kg of normal chocolate. However, studies using flavonol-rich dark chocolate have reported positive effects with intakes of only 100 g of dark chocolate per day, providing a flavonol dose of 88 mg.

This sounds like a positive step forward with blood sugar research. More studies need to be done, but at least we can say that there is a good possibility that a product, like Xocai, that meets the dark chocolate requirements, might indeed help lower blood glucose levels.

Health and Wellness Product will keep your informed on the latest!

Health and Wellness Product - Could a Daily Chocolate Bar Lower your Blood Pressure?

Health and Wellness Product looks into the claims that a daily chocolate bar might lower blood pressure. Information like this sounds too good to be true for the chocolate lover!


From the American Heart Association rapid access journal report:

DALLAS, July 19 – If you have high blood pressure, a daily bar-sized serving of flavonol-rich dark chocolate might lower your blood pressure and improve insulin resistance, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Previous studies suggest flavonoid-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine and chocolate, might offer cardiovascular benefits, but this is one of the first clinical trials to look specifically at dark chocolate’s effect on lowering blood pressure among people with hypertension,” said study author Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D.

Blumberg is a senior scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.

Flavonoids are natural antioxidants found in many foods from plants.

For one week before starting the study, participants avoided all chocolate and other flavonoid-rich foods. During the next 15 days, half ate a daily 3.5-ounce bar of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate, while the other half ate the same amount of white chocolate. After another week of avoiding flavonoid-rich foods, each subject “crossed over” and ate the other chocolate.

“White chocolate, which has no flavonoids, was the perfect control food because it contains all the other ingredients and calories found in dark chocolate,” Blumberg said. “It’s important to note that the dark chocolate we used had a high level of flavonoids, giving it a slightly bittersweet taste.

The researchers found a 12 mm Hg decrease in systolic blood pressure and a 9 mm Hg decrease in diastolic blood pressure in the dark chocolate group after 15 days. Blood pressure did not decrease in the white chocolate group.

HOLY COW! Xocai, the "healthy chocolate" is sounding better and better!

Health and Wellness Product will continue to review the dark chocolate mystery.