Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

Why is Dark Chocolate Healthy?:

Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonanoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicalss, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. 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.

Heart Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate:

Dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it everyday can help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well. Two heart health benefits of dark chocolate are:

• Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.



• Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.

Other Benefits of Dark Chocolate:

Chocolate also holds benefits apart from protecting your heart:

• it tastes good
• it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
• it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
• it contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants

Doesn't Chocolate Have a lot of Fat?:

Here is some more good news -- some of the fats in chocolate do not impact your cholesterol. The fats in chocolate are 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid.

• Oleic Acid is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil.
• Stearic Acid is a saturated fat but one which research is shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol.
• Palmitic Acid is also a saturated fat, one which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk.

That means only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is bad for you.

Chocolate Tip 1 - Balance the Calories:

This information doesn't mean that you should eat a pound of chocolate a day. Chocolate is still a high-calorie, high-fat food. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.

One bar of dark chocolate has around 400 calories. If you eat half a bar of chocolate a day, you must balance those 200 calories by eating less of something else. Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with chocolate to keep your total calories the same

Chocolate Tip 2 - Taste the Chocolate:

Chocolate is a complex food with over 300 compounds and chemicals in each bite. To really enjoy and appreciate chocolate, take the time to taste it. Professional chocolate tasters have developed a system for tasting chocolate that include assessing the appearance, smell, feel and taste of each piece.

Chocolate Tip 3 - Go for Dark Chocolate:

Dark chocolate has far more antioxidants than milk or white chocolate. These other two chocolates cannot make any health claims. Dark chocolate has 65 percent or higher cocoa content.

Chocolate Tip 4 - Skip the Nougat:

You should look for pure dark chocolate or dark chocolate with nuts, orange peel or other flavorings. Avoid anything with caramel, nougat or other fillings. These fillings are just adding sugar and fat which erase many of the benefits you get from eating the chocolate

Chocolate Tip 5 - Avoid Milk

It may taste good but some research shows that washing your chocolate down with a glass of milk could prevent the antioxidants being absorbed or used by your body.

The Miracle of Green Tea

"Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one." (Ancient Chinese Proverb)

Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:

• Cancer


• Rheumatoid Arthritis


• High Cholesterol Levels


• Cariovascular Disease


• Infection


• Impaired Immune Function

What makes green tea so special?

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don't other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Other Benefits

New evidence is emerging that green tea can even help dieters. In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing green tea - from deodorants to creams - are starting to appear on the market.

Harmful Effects?

To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.

Have a banana‏

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!! This is interesting. After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fibre. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.

No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.

It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glu! cose levels, which canaffect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has justallowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

*Excellent article on cancer*.‏

After Years of telling people chemotherapy is the only way to try and eliminate CANCER, Johns Hopkins is finally starting to tell us there is an alternative way..

Cancer Update From Johns Hopkins:

• Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

• Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

• When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.

• When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

• To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

• Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

• Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs

• Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

• When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

• Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

• An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

What Cancer Cells Feed On:

• Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

• Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk, cancer cells are being starved.

• Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

• A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to no urish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

• Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties.Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

• Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

• Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

• Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

• Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

• Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

Nutrional Information

Brain Food

Whether you're having trouble concentrating at work or you just need an extra mental kick to make it through your finals, there are many food, herbs and supplement that can improve your memory, concentration and focus. If you combine these "brain food" with regular exercise and a good night's sleep, you'll have boosted your brainpower in no time..

However, keep in minfd that while some foods can be beneficial for your brain, others can have quite the opposite effect. Processed foods that are high in simple carbohydrates, sugar, salt and preservatives-- such as pies, cakes, and some breads & cereals -- can actually inhibit the release of chemicals needed for the brain to function properly.

If you're looking to boost your brainpower, here are some whole foods, herbs and supplements that can help.

Whole Foods

• Eggs

Since the solids (non-water) part of the brain is primarily composed of fat, we must provide it with "good fats" -- esentially fatty acids or EFAs --through our diet because the body does not produced them. In fact, fat is essential in the formation of synapses in the brain that are involved in the creation and maintenance of memories. Eggs are an excellent source of EFAs.

• Oily Fish

If your mother told u to that eating fish would make u smart, she was right. Oily varieties of fish -- such as salmon, sardines, mackerel and herring -- are high in the EFAs known as omega-3 fatty acids. These good fats are crucial components of our brain cells and impove learning powers and memory. Sardines also have the added benefit of containing the nutrient choline, a brain chemical that is fundamental for memory..!

• Soy

All the whole foods mentioned here also have the advantage of being packed with protein, which triggers neurotransmitters associated with memory. Soy is no exception. Soy protein isolate, which consists of a concentrated form of protein extracted from soybeans, is a great source of protein that can be found in supplements, liquid or powder form. But soy-- found in natural products such asa soymilk or in soy isoflavone supplements-- is also valuable for improving verbal and non-verbal memory, as well as mental flexibility.

Herbs

• Gingko Biloba

Gingko biloba, which has been used in Eastern cultures for thousands of years, is perhaps the most well-known and one of the most potent "memory herbs". It works by increasing the blood flow to the brain, by dilating the blood vessels and increasing oxygen supply. However, it isn;t an instant solution as it can take a few week to start seeing results. it also gets rid of free radicals that can damage brain cells. Boost your brainpower with these everyday herbs you probably have lying around your kitchen, as well as with some basic supplements.

• Green and Black Tea

According to recent studies, green and black teas appear to have the same effect on Alzheimer's disease-- a neurodegenerative disease resulting in the loss of mental functions and memory -- as drugs specifically designed to combat the illness. Both types of tea fight the illness in many ways, but the most significant seems to be that they prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a key chemical involved in memory that is lacking in Alzheimer's patients. Green tea was one step ahead, as its effects lasted a full weeks, whereas those a black tea-- which comes from tha same plant as green tea but is fermented -- only lasted a day.

• Sage

In a recent study, subjects who took sage perfomed significantly better than those who didn't on a word recall test. Althought the exact mechanism behind this isn't fully clear, experts believe sage might increase levels of a chemical that is lacking in Alzheimer's patients the possible use of sage to treat this illness is being examinated.

• Rosemary

Like sage, rosemary can stimulate the memory, strengthen mental clarity and allebiate mental fatigue. Studies have shown that rosemary enhanced subjects ' long term memory by around 15%.

Supplements & More

• B Vitamins

While a healthy, balanced diet generally provides you with all you essential vitamins and nutrients, a vitamin B complex supplement cam be beneficial for your memory, particularly in periods of stress. When you are under mental or physical stress, your body is delpleted of B vitamins. This deficiency prevents acteylcholine -- a key chemical involved in memory -- from functioning in the brain.

vitamins also carry oygen to the brain and do away with damaging free radicals; this helps to enhance memory and sharpen the senses. You can either take a supplement or increase your consumption of vitamin B-rich foods, including liver, eggs, lentils, soybeans and green beans.

• Iron

Iron deficiency-- the most common nutrient deficiency in the United States-- is linked to many adverse effects, including difficulty concentrating, diminished intelligence, and a shortened attention span. Iron helps carry oxygen to the brain, and tha lack of oxygen associated with iron deficiency can cause brain cell activity to slow down significantly.

A simple blood test can determine whether or not you suffer from this deficiency. If so, you can either take an iron supplement or consume iron-rich foods such as lean meats, beans, and iron- fortified cereals. Vitamin C also helps your body absirb iron, so try to combine the two with supplements or with whole foods during meals.

• Water

Since the brain is 70% water, this essential fluid is vital for your memory. In fact, water accelerates the functioning of the brain as a whole and when its dehydrated, it works at a slower pace. This is particularly true when it comes to memory; a dehydrated brain release the hormone cortiscol, which adversely affects the brain capacity to store information and create memory.

In addition, cortisol causes adrenalin to be released, which prompts the brain to function in a more primary, instinctive way; this also affects our mental functions and memory.

It's really quite simple to integrate a few foods or supplements that will improve your memory and concentration into your everyday diet.

An egg in the morning, a cup of green tee beg after lunch, some sage in your spaghetti sauce at dinnertime, and lots of water al day.. YOU'LL BE FEELING LIKE A GENIUS IN NO TIME..!!