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There are many natural functional foods in virtually every food group. As we
all know, chocolate itself is a functional food if it contains sufficient
antioxidants and flavonoids. However, it is now possible for manufacturers to
create functional foods by fortifying and enhancing their products to give
them added health benefits never before possible. A new growing segment of
functional food is called “probiotics."
Probiotic means “fit for life”, or “pro life." Probiotics are living
microorganisms which when administered effectively in adequate amounts confer
health benefits. The adult intestinal tract is home to approximately 100
trillion microorganisms. More than 400 different bacterial species have
already been identified in the intestinal tract.
First, in order to be effective Probiotics must contain bacteria which are
resistant to stomach acids and bile salts. Secondly, the bacteria must have
the capacity to compete successfully with the indigenous intestinal bacteria.
So, either the bacteria must be protected by the use of encapsulation
techniques, or new types of foods must be developed which offer increased
protection for the bacteria. The key to the effectiveness of probiotic
treatment is for the bacteria to be able to pass through the stomach and the
small intestines reaching the large intestines with sufficient strength to
colonize and flourish.
SHIME stands for “The Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem."
This in vitro system was created to simulate the activities and conditions
found in the stomach, small intestines, and large intestines. This enables
scientists to monitor the quantity of bacteria that survive the journey to the
large intestines. And, it also enables them to monitor the development of the
bacterial colonies in the large intestines.
According to the American College of Gastroenterology, 95 million Americans
suffer from digestive problems. Some 60 million have heartburn, 50 million
have irritable bowel syndrome, and 20 million suffer from stomach ulcers.
Many, many new probiotic products have been launched in North America and
Europe. But, we have a distinct advantage. Chocolate appears to be the ideal
delivery system for probiotics. Chocolate has been shown to be far superior to
milk as a delivery system for Probiotics.
The Xoçai™ XoBiotic™ chocolate will be in the form of an 11-gram square and
will deliver 1 billion microorganisms of two types— Lactobacillus Helveticus
R0052 and Bifido Bacterium Longum R0175. These probiotics have been selected
for our probiotic chocolate because of their stability in chocolate and their
guaranteed shelf life equal to the shelf life of the chocolate itself, if
properly stored as recommended for all Xoçai™ products (40*F – 75*F). By
marrying the health benefits of dark chocolate with those of these two
probiotic cultures, which have a positive influence on immune and gut health,
we gain new opportunities with health-conscious consumers. Presently there are
no approved health claims on probiotics in the US, until now!
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