 . : A Cracked Pot : . one lady's journey w/God. King's Daughter. Wife. Mom to 2 canines. Ceili Kid. Chocolate Connoisseur. Culver's addict! Irish Nut. Celtic Lover. did I mention Chocolate?! . : Proverbs : .
. : Author : .
 Name::acp From::Michigan, United States "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence may be of God and not of us." ~II Cor. 4:7 Earthen vessels = pots, none of which are perfect, thus cracked pot. View my complete profile . : Recent Ramblings : .
Me? Forgetful??? . : Old Ramblings : .
January 2006 . : Blogs of Note : .
A Child of God . : Handy Links : .
Christian Happenings-MI  O Connell Street Webcam, Dublin . : Help From : .
Hosted by Blogger
| A Cracked Pot | ||
Wednesday, March 22, 2006I LOVE chocolateI truly do. I tried to limit my intake of chocolate to one candy bar or cookie a day. But that's on my good days. On my stressful days, or days I visit Culvers, I totally throw caution to the wind, and eat until my tummy says, "Enough!" I've never made myself sick with it. I figure my brain chemicals must be off, and it needs more than usual. After all, doesn't dark chocolate raise your brain chemicals and lower your blood pressure and all kinds of other health benefits? [see related article] Just before I started seeing on the Internet all these articles about dark chocolate being good for you, back in January I found a product at our local grocery store that makes it easy for me to stay within my guidelines for eating chocolate every day.  It's called Ghirardelli Premium Baking Chips w/60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate! Fantastically delicious deep dark chocolate flavor without all the calories and fat. Perfectly MARVELOUS stuff! *lol* I've given up candy bars totally now because all their sugar makes me gag. As if that wasn't enough, during my last trip to Sam's Club, I discovered I could buy nearly 3 times as much there for less than double the price at my local grocery store. Be still, my beating heart! *rofl* So I lugged that lucious heavy package of delicious chocolate chips home, and divvied them up into little baggies. We'll see how I do on my smaller portions knowing I have tons more tucked away in the cupboard... However, having said all that about chocolate's health benefits, I will NOT be one of the people buying Mars' new "healthy" candy bar that supposedly processes the cocoa beans so more of the flavornods stay in it. I think it's a just another one of those health fad things where they take advantage of people's likes or addictions so they can feel better about eating candy. And the company can make more money...rubbish! ~~~~postscript~~~~ Of course eating large amounts of chocolate is still bad for you and could cause weight gain. But, taken in smaller quantities, it could prove to be very beneficial to your health. It all depends on the quantity and the type of chocolate that you are eating. There have been many different studies showing the possible effects of chocolate consumption on groups of participants. One such study by the associated press entitled 'Study: Dark chocolate lowers blood pressure' printed on August 27, 2003 which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association included 13 adults with untreated mild hypertension. Each of them ate 3-ounce chocolate bars every day for two weeks. Half of them received white chocolate while the other half got dark chocolate. Blood pressure was shown to be relatively unchanged for those who ate the white chocolate, but the dark chocolate eaters' blood pressure showed changes. Their systolic blood pressure dropped an average of 5 points and their diastolic reading dropped an average of nearly two points. In another study conducted at Pennsylvania State University by study leader Penny Kris-Etherton, a group of participants, split into two groups, ate the same low fat diet except for one of the groups got a chocolate bar and the other group received a high-carb snack. The groups later switched snacks. Total blood cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels didn't vary with either snack. But, increases in HDL ("good") cholesterol and reductions in triglycerides (a heart-risky type of blood fat) were found in the people eating chocolate. However, it is important to note that these health benefits are seen for people who eat traditional chocolate bars that include minimal amounts of heavily processed cocoa that have been blended with large amounts of sugars, dairy products, and artificial flavorings. But rather, to benefit from eating chocolate, one should be eating dark chocolates that have a high percentage of cocoa content. Even more beneficial to one's health is to eat cocoa is the crudest format possible. 
|