Tag: heart disease;

Why They Say Chocolate Has Health Benefits

Does chocolate have health benefits at all? Few studies and researches made not too long ago suggested it has. In fact, a lot of chemicals containing chocolate were found to be beneficial to the people’s health. So, it does contradict the old myth and half-truths surrounding the saying that anything that looks and tastes good is bad.

The health benefits are particularly true to cocoa, dark chocolate, and minimally-processed chocolate foods. Aside from the copper and magnesium, which aids in regulating blood pressure and heartbeat, they contain flavonoids, the ones that you also found in high-antioxidant green tea. As you probably know it already, antioxidants are good for the health as they accomplish a number of health benefits, such as the following:

-Improve circulation
-Lower blood pressure
-Stimulate kidneys, improve digestion
-Can help patients with poor appetite, kidney stones, and anemia
-Improve endothelial functions
-Guard against free radicals and other destructive molecules, which are known to trigger stroke and heart disease.
-Lower heart disease-related deaths

Flavonoids have two different kinds, the epicatechins and catechin. The catechin has been found to be rich in minimally processed chocolate foods and cocoa. This is known to aid in preventing heart disease illnesses and possibly cancer problems. It is also aid to boosting an individual’s immune system, this one also was recently discovered by the experts. Catechins can be found triple in amount in chocolates as compared to those found in teas.

But despite the discovered health benefits of chocolate, you have to be cautious at what type and amount of chocolate food you consume. As anything excessive can be bad to health, and that applies to chocolate too. Eating high quantities of chocolate can still cause weight and eventually trigger illness especially if you consume the less healthy type of chocolate.

In order to avoid the unpleasant consequences, you have to choose the right type of chocolate when consuming as not all kinds are good. For example, highly-processed chocolate food kind such as those in candy and bar forms have high calories, sugar, and fat contents, therefore, must be avoided at all cost. Healthy kinds are dark chocolate, cocoa, and any other minimally-processed chocolate food.

This is in relation to studies demonstrating possible effects by eating chocolates done by the experts to groups of participants. In a particular study, half of the group ate dark chocolate while the other white chocolate. One ones who ate white chocolate, showed no change in blood pressure, while the other who ate dark chocolate, significantly lowered their systolic blood pressure.

At another conducted Pennsylvania State University study,a different group of participants received low fat diet, except that the half got high-carb snack and the other consumed low fat chocolate bar for a certain length of time. The two split groups didn’t show difference in levels of bad or LDL cholesterol afterwards. However, those that ate chocolate bars did show increase in triglycerides, a type of heart-risk blood fat, and good or HDL cholesterols.

From these studies, it showed how chocolate can actually be a good diet food. However, note that the participants were only fed in minimal quantities of chocolates, therefore it is still not advised to consume this sweet treat more than what is required for you to take. Also, remember to avoid chocolate foods that are high in artificial flavorings, with dairy products, and sugars. Remember this: the less that it is processed, the more that health benefits you will get from chocolate.

What Do We Get Out Of Organic Farming and Gardening

What Do We Get Out Of Organic Farming and Gardening

Organic farming and gardening usually refers to techniques that do not use any fertilizers or chemical pesticides. This is because although they will help the plant grow, they are harmful to our health.

To give you an idea on how effective it is one study showed that organic milk from cows has more anti-oxidants, CLA, Omega 3 and vitamins compared to the cows that could produce the same amount of milk using hormones, antibiotics and the remains of other animals.

Another shows that organically grown fruits and vegetables have 50% more nutrients and vitamins that will drastically decrease your chances of suffering from a number of health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain cancers.

If this was the case, why didnt we did we have to use it in the first place? Believe it or not, those who decided to use such things had the best of intentions but realized later on that this was a mistake.

Yes, more vegetables, fruits and meat products are needed to answer the demand of the market but it does not have to be at the expense of the lives that grow and eat it. Here are some reasons for it.

First, eating products made organically have shown that it people will be able to live healthier lives. Why? This is because items bought from the store, which are washed and heated does not always eliminate the fertilizers or chemicals that were used in making it grow.

Second, organically grown food tastes much better than inorganic ones. The reason is because antibiotics and pesticides take away essential vitamins and nutrients which your body desperately needs.

Third, you have to remember that fertilizers and pesticides also harm the environment. It makes the soil less fertile and also damages the environment.

Lastly, this will give animals the right to live even for a short while instead of being caged then slaughtered.

When you look for organic farming or gardening products at the grocery, you will notice that they are placed in a separate area and they are a bit more expensive. Maybe it is because the demand for such goods has not increased yet but if you are concerned about your health and those you care about, it is never too late to go organic.

The government for its part is doing its share by offering incentives and subsidies to farmers to engage in organic farming and gardening. How? By encouraging those who work the land for a living to cease genetic engineering, irradiation and sewage sludge and instead replace this with crop rotation. Since the shift is quite expensive for farmers to do themselves, the Department of Agriculture is the sole body tasked to shoulder some of the cost.

In fact, since organic farming and gardening is so simple, you can even do this in your own backyard. You just have to prepare the soil, buy the seeds and then following the proper guidelines so they can grow.

Although they are organic, dont forget to wash them thoroughly before you get home. This is because some farmers use compost and manure and you wouldnt want to serve that to whoever eats at the table.

Organic farming and gardening is the in thing today. It keeps us healthy and at the same time is environment friendly.