Eat More Chocolate

Trying to be healthy during the holidays doesn’t have to be strenuous. Consume foods that have shown to deliver health benefits, such as chocolate.  Chocolate gets a bad reputation for being a diet killer, but studies have shown that chocolate can be beneficial to your health.  Chocolate contains two antioxidants, polyphenols and flavonoids, both which help to reduce cholesterol. The best kind of chocolate is dark chocolate. Research has shown that eating the equivalent of 30 calories of dark chocolate a day can help to lower systolic blood pressure by 2.9 millimeters of mercury. Choose dark chocolate that contains at least 70% cocoa.  Although chocolate provides health benefits, it is important to consume it in moderation.

Not meeting your daily goal of fruits? Put some chocolate on it, such as strawberries, bananas, and apples.  Chocolate covered fruit provides all the benefits of fruit and the antioxidants in chocolate.