I BLAME my obsession for dark chocolate on my family. I have four sisters and we live for our desserts?especially those sinfully chocolate-drenched stuff. So when we all started running and triathlon training, we were all thrilled to hear that scientists have discovered how the main ingredient of our favorite food, cocoa powder, had nearly twice the antioxidant levels of red wine and up to three times of that found in green tea. In fact, raw cocoa has the highest antioxidant value of all the natural foods known.

Of course, it?s all those fun stuff that turn raw cocoa into chocolate (like sugar, butter, more butter and these days, even bacon bits) that make it unhealthy. These tasty additives also destroy the flavanols that help maintain healthy blood pressure and blood flow. Flavanols prevent fatty substances in the bloodstream from oxidizing and then clogging the arteries. They also help make blood platelets less likely to stick together and cause problems with blood clots, heart attacks and strokes. This negates the need for aspirin and prescription blood thinners.

As our father died of heart disease, we were all conscious that we might have inherited this health problem, so this information only made us eat more chocolate! And we ate them as dark as we could, since our taste ran into the deeper, more intense chocolate flavors that cut out a lot of the fancy ?evil? ingredients and were made from mostly raw cocoa.

But aside from its healthy side, we discovered that cocoa has its sexy side. It contains amino acids, one of which is tryptophan that produces the neurotransmitter known as serotonin. This is why guys give girls chocolates?they promote positive feelings that could lead to a second date, especially if the box is big enough to share among five sisters.

Other neurotransmitters produced by amino acids in cocoa promote a healthy brain and mental alertness. Moreover, consuming dark chocolate produces an increased sensitivity to insulin that provides a protective effect against diabetes. Apparently, with enough chocolate (raw cocoa preferred) loaded into one?s system, who needs aspirin, psychiatrists and school?

But just when I thought that dark chocolate was the ultimate ?super food,? a good friend sent me a giant bag of dark chocolate-covered acai berries, pronounced ?ah-sigh-ee.? Since it was covered in dark chocolate, it was an instant hit in our house. Further research led me to discover that this small fruit, about the size of a grape from the acai palm tree grown in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil, is now being touted as one of the world?s healthiest fruits. Apparently loaded with antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids, the berry is considered to have the best overall nutritional value of any fruit on earth. The acai berry, research contends, contains a full array of vitamins, minerals and trace elements, an almost perfect essential amino acid complex, 60 percent oleic acid, 12 percent linoleic acid, large amounts of plant sterols (phytochemicals in plants), significant amounts of dietary fiber, natural calcium and 10 to 30 times the antioxidants found in red wine. Of course, all this went way over my head because I was too busy enjoying its tart cherry-like texture flavored with hints of dark chocolate!

Even though the acai berry?s benefits are legendary in Brazil, doctors, scientists and nutritionists in the US have only recently begun to rave about its health benefits and nutritional qualities. Small wonder as Brazil is located at the far end of the world for most people. I recently visited this beautiful country, and with all its natural wonders, it?s easy to understand how this small fruit could have been overlooked for years.

The acai berry, I found out, is second only to unprocessed raw cocoa in antioxidant richness. It is a relative of the blueberry, cranberry, and other dark purple fruits and is part of the healthy ?blue plant? foods called anthocyanin. Foods that are richest in anthocyanins?such as blueberries, red grapes, red wine, and acai?are very strongly colored, their hues ranging from deep purple to black. Packed with powerful antioxidants that help defend the body against life's stressors, the berries protect us against free radicals and other harmful byproducts produced by the body. Recent studies claim that eating a diet rich in antioxidants may interfere with aging and the disease process by neutralizing free radicals. By lessening the destructive power of free radicals, antioxidants may help reduce the risk of some diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.

Can acai berries help boost weight loss? Currently there are no scientific findings to back this claim, but it?s safe to assume that if we eat acai berries for dessert or snacks, instead of French fries or cheesecake, we would no doubt lose some weight.
Going even a step further, some cosmetics and beauty products now list acai oil as an ingredient, as studies have shown the oil to be a safe alternative to other tropical oils used in beauty products such as facial and body creams, anti-aging skin therapies, shampoos and conditioners, and similar cosmetics. When acai oil is processed and stored long-term, its antioxidant levels remain high.

So now that acai berries are in your chocolate and face cream, can you develop an allergy to it? If you have pollen allergies or have a known hypersensitivity to berries, you may want to avoid this fruit. However, unlike nut allergens where one bite could prove fatal, acai berries are most likely safe when eaten in moderate amounts.

But before we all run out and stuff ourselves with dark chocolate-covered acai berries, let?s take a moment to contemplate the negative effects this stuff could have on our bodies. Hmmm, thinking, thinking? Well, none that I know of. So, race you to the health store; I?m ready for a fix!