Chocolate is considered by many as a “junk food” but studies have shown that moderate and regular consumption of chocolate can have many health benefits. In this article we are going to tell you why you should enjoy your chocolate and all the benefits it has to offer!

Happier Children – Women who eat chocolate every day during their pregnancy have noted that they were able to better to handle the stress associated with motherhood. A Finnish study also found that those babies smiled more and were happier.

A Healthier Heart – Eating chocolate can have various cardiovascular benefits. Dark chocolate can help to lower the risk of heart failure, lower blood pressure, and reduce the chances of having a heart attack or stroke.  Since these antioxidants also come with sugar, milk, and butter it is important to remember that you shouldn’t skip out on your workout.

Decreased Stress – Swiss scientists have found that those who were very anxious and ate an ounce and a half of dark chocolate every day for two weeks had much lower stress hormone levels than those who did not.

Weight – Loss – Dark chocolate is more filling than other chocolates. Dark chocolates also tend to create fewer cravings for fatty, sweet, or salty foods.

Sun Defense – Flavanols found in chocolate have sun-protecting abilities.  London researchers did a study on how effective flavanols were in sun protection and found that those who are chocolate with high levels of flavanols were less likely to get burnt by the sun. In fact it took the skin twice as long to get the reddening effect. However, chocolates low in flavanol did not have the same effect.

Higher Intelligence – Drinking cocoa that is rich in flavanols can help boost blood flow to certain key parts of the brain for approximately 2 to 3 hours, which helps to improve performance and alertness.

As you can see, chocolate has many health benefits. Just remember to eat it in moderation!

Nutribar Original Meal Bars come in a variety of chocolate options like Belgian Chocolate, Chocolate Fudge, Deep Brownie Delight and Chocolate Peanut Butter.

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chocolate, dark chocolate, health, health tips, healthy chocolate, healthy eating

There are many foods that can help you to improve your hair, brain, and even boost your energy. Here is our guide on what foods to eat:

For Your Hair:
-Low-Fat Cottage Cheese – Since hair is mostly made of protein it is important to eat a lot of protein to have a healthy and vibrant mane. Low-fat cottage cheese is full of protein and has 14 grams in half a cup.
-Pumpkin Seeds – Pumpkin seeds are full of zinc. Zinc helps to reduce shedding.

For Your Brain:
-Arctic Char – This fish is full of omega-3 fats, DHA, and EPA which all help to improve brain function.
-Kale – A study done in the journal Neurology has reported that getting more than two servings per day of veggies especially leafy green ones such as kale – slows down cognitive decline by 40%.

For Your Nose
-Sunflower Seeds – Hay fever affects many people all over the world, you can stop Hay Fever with vitamin E. Researchers believe that vitamin E calms the part of your immune system involved with allergies. Sunflower seeds have 49% of your daily vitamin E needs in an ounce.

For Your Eyes:
-Whole eggs – If you’re eating eggs, don’t just eat the egg white, eat the yolks too! The yols are a great source for two antioxidants – lutein and zeaxanthin, they are carotenoids that fight cataracts as well as macular degeneration.

For Your Heart:
-Asparagus – Asparagus have lots of foate and potassium which are both nutrients that are great for your heart.
-Grape Juice – Purple grape juice is high in phenolics. Phenolics is a group of powerful antioxidants that swallows up heart-damaging free radicals.

For Your Bones:
-Chocolate – Chocolate is rich in magnesium which is vital for bone health.
-Canned Salmon – The omega-3s in this fish can help to increase bone density. Salmon typically has lower heavy metals such as mercury than other fish. Canned salmon is another great source of calcium which is also essential for healthy bones.

Tag(s): Nutribar

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It’s common. You go to the gym, go crazy with activity, and then are starving afterwards. You don’t want to put all your hard work to waste by scarfing down something good… but it’s hard to ignore a growly tummy. Obviously, you can’t skip over to the nearest fast food place, but you’re hungry. What’s a healthy lifestyle lover to do?

It’s simple: stock up on what you can eat. We found this post on askmen.com, and it includes a great amount of delicious snacks for your pre and post gym workout. You can read the full article on the askmen.com site, but here’s the short version here:

10. Chocolate
9. Carbohydrate energy gels
8. Bananas and other fruits
7. Trail mix
6. Yogurt
5. Energy bars
4. Oatmeal
3. Almonds
2. Pasta
1. Lentils

almonds, bananas, carbohydrate energy gels, carbohydrates, chocolate, energy bars, fruit, gym workout tips, lentils, oatmeal, pasta, the gym, trail mix, yogurt

Well, we’ve known this for a while, haven’t we, folks? The news that chocolate is good for you is no surprise to us! Here’s an article on the The Heart and Stroke Foundation site, by Marlowe Hood.  

Heart attack survivors who eat chocolate two or more times per week cut their risk of dying from heart disease about threefold compared to those who never touch the stuff, scientists have reported. Smaller quantities confer less protection, but are still better than none, according to the study, which appears in the September issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Earlier research had established a strong link between cocoa-based confections and lowered blood pressure or improvement in blood flow. It had also shown that chocolate cuts the rate of heart-related mortality in healthy older men, along with post-menopausal women. But the new study, led by Imre Janszky of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, is the first to demonstrate that consuming chocolate can help ward off the grim reaper if one has suffered acute myocardial infarction — otherwise known as a heart attack.

“It was specific to chocolate — we found no benefit to sweets in general,” said Kenneth Mukamal, a researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a co-author of the study.

“It seems that antioxidants in cocoa are a likely candidate” for explaining the live-saving properties, he told AFP in an exchange of e-mails. Antioxidants are compounds that protect against so-called free radicals, molecules which accumulate in the body over time that can damage cells and are thought to play a role in heart disease, cancer and the aging process.

In the study, Janszky and colleagues tracked 1,169 non-diabetic men and women, 45-to-70 years old, in Stockholm County during the early 1990s from the time they were hospitalised with their first-ever heart attack.

The participants were queried before leaving hospital on their food consumption habits over the previous year, including how much chocolate they ate on a regular basis. They underwent a health examination three months after discharge, and were monitored for eight years after that. The incidence of fatal heart attacks correlated inversely with the amount of chocolate consumed.

“Our findings support increasing evidence that chocolate is a rich source of beneficial bioactive compounds,” the researchers concluded. The results held true for men and women, and across all the age groups included in the study.

Other factors that might have affected the outcome — alcohol consumption, obesity, smoking — were also taken into account. So should we all be loading up on cocoa-rich sweets?

“To be frank, I’m pretty cautious about chocolate because we’re working on weight problems with so many individuals,” said Mukamal, who is also a practising physician. “However, I do encourage those who are looking for healthier desserts to consider chocolate in small quantities,” he said. “For individuals with no weight issues who have been able to eat chocolate in moderation and remain slim, I do not limit it,” he added. The researchers caution that clinical trials are needed to back up the findings of their study. In the meantime, however, a bit of chocolate may not be amiss, they suggest.Good news, in any case. Check out The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s statistics for some more interesting reading.

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