Cocoa mass**, sugar**,
almond**, hazelnut**, cocoa butter**, maqui* ** (aristotelia
chilensis), soya lecithin**, lactic acid bacterium** (lactobacillus
plantarum 6595) * certified organic, ** certified vegan.
Maqui berry
Most people know that blueberries, black currants,
acai berries, raspberry, and especially aronia berries, contain large amounts
of antioxidants. Most people also know that aronia berries contain approx.
eight times as many antioxidants than blueberries, but only a few have heard
about the biggest super berry, the maqui berry (aristotelia chilensis). Even
fewer people know that the maqui berry contains almost twice as many
antioxidants as aronia berries, which is nearly 16 times as many antioxidants
as blueberries.
Maqui berries can only be found in the Patagonia
region in Chile, where they grow in the wild. The berries have been known for
centuries by the Chilean Mapuche natives who used the maqui berries to make a
traditional, fermented energy drink meant to give strength and courage to the
Mapuche tribe warrior.
The Mapuche natives harvest the berries during the
harvesting season, and almost the entire Mapuche community is involved. In
comparison to many other berries that contain antioxidants, maqui berries taste
good as well.
In Mapuche language, maqui means peaceful intention,
and it is a symbol of goodwill. Today, the maqui berry is still a symbol of
strength and health.
Many prebiotic foods are not only rich in prebiotic
fiber but also in bitter substances. A lot of bitter substances are
antioxidants. Antioxidants are the common denominator for a long line of
microscopical plant substances and select vitamins and minerals which protect
the body by reinforcing the cells against oxygen damage.
When you eat substances that are meant to protect food
against oxygen damage, they surround the body’s tissue and become a part of the
defense against inflammation and free radicals.
Research has shown that antioxidants have an
anti-inflammatory effect that counteracts the inflammation in the blood
vessels, formation of atherosclerosis, and it lowers the blood pressure as the
elasticity of the blood vessels increases.
Probiotics
The lactic acid bacterial strain (Lactobacillus
Plantarum 6595) is one of the most studied and best described strains, both in
terms of clinical animal experiments and in vitro studies.
Lactobacillus Plantarum 6595 can survive the passage
through the acidic environment of the stomach, they can colonize the mucous
cells in the intestinal system and increase the effectiveness of the
polyphenols by increasing the degree of absorption of the polyphenols.
Lactic acid bacteria have nothing to do with milk but
refer to the fact that the bacteria produce lactic acid when they ferment the
medium in which they grow. The Lactobacillus Plantarum 6595 strain is vegan and
does not contain animal products – nor have animal products been used as a
growth medium.
A fun fact about the term lactic acid bacteria, or the
perhaps more accurate term probiotics, is that probiotics is Greek for “For
Life”.
Almonds
Almonds taste good and they are extremely healthy. The
majority of the known polyphenols are water-soluble, while the rest are
fat-soluble. The fat-soluble polyphenols are difficult to get enough of through
diet alone, but they are found in, for example, almonds. Almonds also contain
vitamin E, dietary fibers, and healthy unsaturated fatty acids.
Chocolate
This dietary supplement contains only vegan chocolate
which only consists of cocoa mass, cocoa butter, lecithin, and sugar. Nothing
else. Cocoa butter is the expensive and difficult ingredient in chocolate. This
is why many manufacturers want to replace cocoa butter with animal fats to
lower the price and make chocolate easier to handle. It simply requires less
skills to use chocolate of lower quality such as chocolates made with animal
fats.
