20 November 2008
I hide dark chocolate. Yes I admit it! Hidden in our kitchen is a small bag of dark Lindt chocolate, camouflaged inside a non-food container. That delicious dark chocolate fulfils my chocolate desires as, and when, required. I love dark chocolate, the darker the better in my opinion.
A Bit Of Dark Chocolate Here And There Might Help Our Heart!
Ever feel a little naughty or guilty when you're enjoying a chocolate moment? Some wonderful Italian researchers have found a solution to this problem, through their recent research efforts. The Italians discovered that dark chocolate may actually decrease our risk of cardiovascular disease. Bless the Italians for conducting such wonderful research, I say! Eating up to 20-grams of dark chocolate every 3 days has beneficial heart effects, according to the researchers. Heart-healthy benefits disappear, though, if more than 20-grams per 3-days is consumed.
Savouring 20 glorious, dark, grams of chocolate, twice a week is good for us then. But, how to draw the line at that? How to prevent the chocolate overdose? The nightly chocolate fix? The mid-afternoon chocolate craving? British researchers have a solution...
Brisk Walk May Curtail Your Chocolate Cravings
Get your walking shoes on and take a brisk 15-minute walk. Chocolate fix sorted - end of story. The Brits conducted trials with regular chocolate consumers: depriving them of chocolate for three days before then subjecting the participants to stressful tests and chocolate temptations.
After a 15-minute walk the participants had less chocolate urges when faced with stressful situations or an unwrapped chocolate. Which is great news for beating mid-afternoon chocolate fixes at work and those strolls past the work snack machine. The exercise also reduced blood pressure increases in the participants when faced with stressors or chocolate.
A 15-minute walk isn't a huge commitment. Take a stroll at lunch-time with a workmate or friend; stroll whenever the chocolate urge hits you (assuming you can get away from the task at hand). Two strolls a day and you've completed 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise, which is great, and you might beat those chocolate cravings.
And if you love your chocolate, and you enjoy dark chocolate, then make dark chocolate your first choice - given the heart-healthy benefits attributed to this variety. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?!
Like to read more about curbing those cravings? Chocolate isn't my only challenge, potato chips are too! Read my blog about potato chips and how I deal with my love of chips, and avoid eating the entire bag:
Ode to the potato chip
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