 Tweet It's true: cocoa can prevent and reverse cancer. That's because it's loaded with powerful phytochemicals found naturally in the cacao plant -- the source of cocoa and just one of many Amazon herbs. But in the real world, people will take this information and misuse it: they'll stuff down chocolate bars loaded with refined sugars, and they'll tell themselves that it's good for them! In reality, cocoa is a powerful medicinal herb, but almost nobody in America has ever tasted cocoa by itself. In America and most western societies, cocoa is always consumed with massive quantities of sugar and other food additives. The result? It's probably worse for you than eating nothing at all. If you really want the benefits of cocoa (and, yes, the anti-cancer benefits are real), you'll have to find chocolate bars made with pure cocoa, and made without any sugars or artificial sweeteners. You can also buy nutritional supplements containing theobromine cacao (cocoa). 