[NEohioPAL] **Health Tip for the Day**

[Edward Niam]

Support your heart’s health with chocolate. Yep, that’s right, chocolate:
that oh-so-indulgent treat that makes women around the world swoon. But it’s
not the milk chocolate candy bar or the box of chocolate-covered cherries
that best support your heart. It’s the dark and cocoa powder varieties that
work best.

When you surf the shelves for the best chocolate, keep this in mind:
Chocolate is basically made of cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar. The
percentage you see on the front of the package is the ratio of cocoa and
cocoa butter compared to the rest of the ingredients. Check the ingredient
label as well, many chocolate manufacturers add extra sugars, preservatives,
and fillings like nuts, fruits, and creams that can add extra calories you
don’t need.
 
Dark chocolate and cocoa powders are rich in flavonoids, which have been
shown to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease and lower your blood
pressure. So when you choose a chocolate bar with a higher cocoa percentage,
you are also getting more flavonoids and helping your heart stay healthy. In
fact, a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found
that women who ate one serving of chocolate per week (about one ounce) were
60 percent less likely to die from heart disease. Also, their levels of
carotid atherosclerotic plaques (the stuff that clogs the artery in your
neck, which supplies your brain with oxygenated blood) were significantly
lower.
 
However, many chocolate manufacturers process the treat over and over again,
causing the chocolate to lose some of its antioxidant properties. And white
chocolate has no flavonoids whatsoever; it’s made with no cocoa solids at
all, only cocoa butter and sugar at it’s basic level. But don’t rush out,
grabbing for all the dark chocolate you can get! Women who ate chocolate
every day had comparable results to those that ate it once per week.
 
Remember: moderation is key, and the darker the better. If chocolate is not
your thing; there are other foods rich in flavonoids, too. Try some red
wine, tea, cranberries, and apples. 

~Source, Natural Solutions


Tai Chi Institute USA
~The Movement of Life~TM
Sifu Edward Niam
Master-TCM, SKF
118 West Streetsboro Street
Suite 224
Hudson, Ohio 44236
330.564.7558/fax-342.3802
www.taichicleveland.com 
edniam at windstream.net
 
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
 but by the moments that take our breath away."
 
 
 

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