Dark Chocolate: Good or Great for Your Health?
Have you been looking for an excuse to add a little sweets to your otherwise healthy diets? I bet you feel guilty for cheating on your otherwise low calorie diet, right? You probably even start backsliding and cheat more often after you give in just once.
There is great news, that you can add some sweets to your life without feeling bad about cheating on your diet! Studies have shown that adding a little dark chocolate to your diet may actually improve your health.
This is great news for anyone with a sweet tooth, and you no longer have to feel guilty for adding a little chocolate snack while trying to lose weight.
Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries).
Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.
It also helps lower blood pressure and reduce the bad cholesterol (LDL).
This doesn't mean you can skip out on the cholesterol medicines your doctor prescribed, but it will hopefully help make them even more effective.
If you are under medical care, you should continue to do everything your doctor tells you to do and ask him if adding dark chocolates to your diet could be a good idea.
Your doctor will know your history and will be able to give a good opinion on whether it could be beneficial for you.
The important part of adding this to your diet is to just eat a little portion.
You don't need to consume a ton of dark chocolate to reap the health benefits.
Moderation is important, just a small piece everyday can be the right dose to help your body and achieve the health benefits of the dark chocolate.
Too much dark chocolate, and you will lose the benefits because dark chocolate is still a high calorie, high fat treat.
Studies show that the antioxidants that you gain from eating dark chocolate may be negated if you consume milk with the chocolate.
So avoid washing down the your chocolate treat with that glass of milk.
This may also be true for other health recommendations for antioxidants such as fruits, tea, and drinking a glass of red wine.
So, get your calcium at other times of the day and not with your antioxidants to maximize their benefits.
Chocolate is a useful supplement to a healthy diet, but you shouldn't try to substitute it for the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.
As always, a healthy, well balanced diet is a key factor to a long and healthy life.
You should consult your doctor before making any major changes to your diet.
Enjoy your new, guilt-free treats!
There is great news, that you can add some sweets to your life without feeling bad about cheating on your diet! Studies have shown that adding a little dark chocolate to your diet may actually improve your health.
This is great news for anyone with a sweet tooth, and you no longer have to feel guilty for adding a little chocolate snack while trying to lose weight.
Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries).
Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.
It also helps lower blood pressure and reduce the bad cholesterol (LDL).
This doesn't mean you can skip out on the cholesterol medicines your doctor prescribed, but it will hopefully help make them even more effective.
If you are under medical care, you should continue to do everything your doctor tells you to do and ask him if adding dark chocolates to your diet could be a good idea.
Your doctor will know your history and will be able to give a good opinion on whether it could be beneficial for you.
The important part of adding this to your diet is to just eat a little portion.
You don't need to consume a ton of dark chocolate to reap the health benefits.
Moderation is important, just a small piece everyday can be the right dose to help your body and achieve the health benefits of the dark chocolate.
Too much dark chocolate, and you will lose the benefits because dark chocolate is still a high calorie, high fat treat.
Studies show that the antioxidants that you gain from eating dark chocolate may be negated if you consume milk with the chocolate.
So avoid washing down the your chocolate treat with that glass of milk.
This may also be true for other health recommendations for antioxidants such as fruits, tea, and drinking a glass of red wine.
So, get your calcium at other times of the day and not with your antioxidants to maximize their benefits.
Chocolate is a useful supplement to a healthy diet, but you shouldn't try to substitute it for the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.
As always, a healthy, well balanced diet is a key factor to a long and healthy life.
You should consult your doctor before making any major changes to your diet.
Enjoy your new, guilt-free treats!