The reason why chocolate is studied so much is because of a certain class of phytochemicals called flavonoids. The one that is of most interest is called epicatechin. There are many health benefits associated with flavonoids and one of them is the ability to improve the circulatory system. This is because they are what is known as flavonoids and the job of the antioxidant is to get rid of free radicals from your blood. You really don’t want free radicals in your system because they can do damage to your cells.
This might be enough evidence for you to go on a chocolate binge but before you do that you need to know that chocolate isn’t the only source of these flavanoids. You can also find them in fruit and vegetables. Chocolate can contain a lot of fat and sugar so it’s much healthier to eat your greens than to eat your chox.
Some people forget that even the healthiest of foods can be dangerous in high enough quantities. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, this doesn’t mean that if you eat 100 apples a day you’ll live forever! Moderation is key.
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hi April, As you say, everything in moderation. I’m a big believer in the health benefits of chocolate, caffeine, red wine, and beer - all in MODERATION of course. I can’t say I think there’s much of a health benefit to ice cream or pizza, but hey, one’s got to enjoy life. Maybe if you get chocolate chip ice cream and have a chocolate shake with the pizza…
Nestle did some research last year that seemed to indicate that certain benign bacteria that some people carried caused them to crave chocolate. A chocolate maker researching what might make people eat more chocolate, now that’s a twist. Chocolate, particularly Dark Chocolate, is being heavily promoted for its supposed health benefits these days. It certainly is a big question as to whether or not this kind of chocolate is any better than ordinary milk chocolate or not but you have to figure that dark chocolate has less fat, just from not having as high of a fat content from milk and cream. Chocolate flavored coffee is a favorite of mine and it’s fat and sugar free as long as I don’t add them to the coffee. Chocolate also makes a great gift but you should be careful not to give a box to someone who is on a diet and trying to avoid indulging in chocolate. I don’t like chocolate ice cream that much although I do like chocolate chip ice cream or chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. OK, I’m hungry now.
The trick is to get the health benefits of dark chocolate without the sugar and fat. There is an unprocessed, raw cacao available that has all of the good and none of the bad of dark chocolate. Plus this product has no processed sugar, no added fats, no preservatives, no waxes, fillers none added caffine. And it tastes delicious. You can check it out at http://www.simplychocolate.biz. Another great website is http://www.mydrchocolate.com for all of the current clinical research.
