Healthy Heart Food Number Two
Roy and Heidi Mercer’s HealthyHeart Shopping Stop
CHOCOLATE, and who among us would ever think of this sweet treat as a beneficicial aid to reduce the risk of heart disease? This food is not only good, but now… research shows that dark chocolate is a good aid for lowering “bad” cholesterol.
That is right: a six ounce servingof chocolate daily reduced the low-density lipoproteins (”bad” cholesterol ) and triglycerides, raised high-density lipoprotein, and protected the lower-density lipoproteins from oxidation. The study, done at University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, gave some other benefits to dark chocolate too.
Cocoa also contains phenols-antiseptic, anti inflammatory compounds that reduce the risk of heart disease by keeping fat-like substances from oxidizing in the blood stream and clogging the arteries.
So next time the sweet tooth begins to raise it’s crown—six ounces of dark chocolate may be a treat to enjoy. Remember though, six ounces is all, no amount of extra chocolate will bring extra benefit! I will also remind us all that the chips in chocolate chip cookies do not count, and we should with our health professionals prior to eating any food, or trying any of the items on this… or any other web site.