Chocolate's Secret Health Benefits

Who knew antioxidants could taste so good?

More on:

• Healthy Foods
• Cholesterol

Remember that scene in the Woody Allen movie Sleeper in which Woody, who has been frozen for 200 years, wakes up to find that chocolate and banana cream pie are now health foods? Well, it's not so far-fetched.

Chocolate is chock full of potent antioxidants called phenols, the same as those found in wine. In fact, a 1.5-ounce chocolate bar has as much antioxidant power as a 5-ounce glass of red wine. (White chocolate, which doesn't contain any cocoa solids, doesn't count.) And contrary to popular belief, chocolate contains only a very small amount of caffeine.

More good news: One-third of the fat in chocolate is a cholesterol-friendly fat called stearic acid, and another third is an unsaturated fat called oleic acid. When Pennsylvania researchers (including some from the Mars candy company) had 23 people follow either the average American diet or the same diet supplemented with 22 grams of cocoa powder and 16 grams of dark chocolate, they found that the chocolate diet reduced LDL oxidation. If you're going to indulge:

Choose dark. Dark chocolate contains more phenols than other forms of chocolate. Milk chocolate contains milk fat (palmitic acid) that is highly saturated. Semi-sweet chocolate has less fat than milk chocolate.

Kill two birds. Dip strawberries into melted chocolate for a high-antioxidant snack that can easily satisfy one or two fruit servings. An easy way to get melted chocolate is to simply microwave semi-sweet chocolate chips on medium for about 30 seconds. Be sure the strawberries are complete dry before you dip.

Go for quality. Buy the richest, creamiest chocolate you can afford. You'll be more satisfied with one piece of the good stuff than five pieces of the mediocre stuff.

From Cut Your Cholesterol

 

• Stay Healthy With Antioxidants
• Protect your body by eating fruits and veggies.
• 
• Tap Into the Benefits of Alcohol
• Drink to a higher HDL and a healthier heart.
• 
• Exercise Your Heart Attack Risk Away
• A healthier heart is as simple as a daily walk.
• 
• Stress: A Heart Disease Risk Factor on a Par With Smoking and Obesity
• An underlying problem that can have severe physical consequences.
• 
• Statins: The New Wonder Drugs
• A primer on the medication some call the "drug of the century."
• 
• Low-Fat Chocolate Cake With Raspberries
• Count on chocolate and raspberries -- both powerful antioxidants -- as delicious weapons against artery plaque formation.
• 

Traveling salesmen make their living visiting as many customers as possible. So speeding to get from one appointment to the next is not unheard-of. Which is how I got pulled over by a highway patrolman. "Don't you ever look at the speedometer?" the officer scolded. Before I knew it, the truth spilled from my mouth. "As fast as I was going," I admitted, "I was afraid to take my eyes off the road."

-- Walt Lile

“ In Hollywood, an equitable divorce settlement means each party getting 50 percent of publicity. ”

— Lauren Bacall

See More Quotes

Sponsored Links