Posts Tagged ‘heart health’

Another Excuse to Eat Chocolate!

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Like I needed one? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I love chocolate! Chocolate is better than…well let’s just say I really love Chocolate!;) I recently read that there has been research that suggests that dark chocolate is actually healthy to boot, here’s why…

Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants. Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.

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.

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

*Did I mention it tastes good? LOL

In celebration of Chocolate and all of it’s health benefits, Scandle is featuring a new gift set for Valentine’s Day, Scandle’s Chocolate Spa Therapy, featuring this heavenly treat. The gift set includes

*1 Scandle Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Shimmering Lotion Candle in reusable ceramic container

*1 Scandle Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Dead Sea Salt Soak and Scrub

*1oz Chocolate Prescription chocolate bars so you can get your daily dose of healthy yumminess!